Shifting Views
by Shura Pirate
Summary: Sequel to Shifts in the Days: Declarations of love are not always quick to come, but when they do occur, it creates a feeling unlike any other. However, saying you're in love and living out that love is a whole other journey that the once famed 'God of Death' and the Angel of the Kaleido Stage will come to realize. Connected drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

AN: It's the sequel! Yay!

Just a warning, later on there will be more of the older teen range moments with the romance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kaleido Star. If I did, there would be a heck of a lot more episodes with Sora and Leon. Even just Leon's back story would have been great.

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The weather was warm, given that they were in the summer.

Posters of _The Little Mermaid_ were all over the Kaleido Stage. Leon paused in order to look at one, noting that Sora's tall friend Anna did a pretty good job of the role of the prince. He shook his head as he recalled what she told him about the day they took the picture.

_I'm not surprised that she couldn't pull off the right face._

After all, it took her over four months to realize that he was interested in her romantically. His patience was eventually rewarded, however.

He let out a half grin at that.

The last showing had been almost half an hour ago, yet he hadn't seen her around. He had asked one of her friends—_Mia_, he told himself. It would be good if he remembered their names—and she had said that the redhead was probably still in the water.

If she was, he didn't blame her. It was rather warm.

Light splashing could be heard as he approached the outside stadium.

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Sora contently sighed as she floated on her back.

The flippers she had ditched long ago and the forearm accessories as well. The headpiece was fairly light, so she left it on her head. Footsteps sounded closer and closer to the pool; a grin played along her face.

_I bet I can guess who it is._

She probably took too long in the water. _Whoops._

An idea popped into her head. With a quick glance at the approaching figure, she judged the location she needed to head towards and then she submerged.

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He came to the edge of the pool only to have her duck down underwater.

Crouching down, he watched her progression in the water as she came towards him. Having thought she'd simply stop when she neared the edge of the pool, he was surprised to see that she stayed underwater.

When she was very close to the edge, her body shot up half out of the water and pecked him on the lips. He blinked at the sudden action, but quickly grabbed her before she went under again.

"You caught a mermaid," she teased.

Amused, he replied, "Do I gain anything?"

She gave him another peck on the lips. "A kiss."

One hand stayed around her as the other cradled the back of her wet head. "I catch a legendary being and all I get is a kiss?"

"Would multiple kisses be better?"

His eyes languidly traced her lips. "I suppose that will have to do."

"Good," she stated as her arms went around his neck. Her lips lightly touched his as she finished with, "Because that's what you're getting."

He leaned in the rest of the way, impatient for his prize. His hand pressed her closer for a firmer connection and he was rewarded with a soft sigh from her. He leaned back on his heels, making her lift her legs completely out of the water.

She was wet, but he did not care as he brought her against him.

Her arms stayed around him as he let go of her in order to wrap her legs around his waist. She hooked her bare feet around his back and then he stood up.

He broke the kiss as he started to walk. She laid wet kisses along his cheek in a trail over to his ear.

"I left some gear over by the other side of the pool."

He sighed in fake exasperation. "And you want me to go and get it?"

She giggled against his neck and then placed a kiss along his under jaw. "I'm a little busy," she murmured as her lips lightly brushed his neck, "So I would really appreciate it."

His eyes half closed at the little shivers her lips were causing.

"Alright."

She smiled and then placed a kiss on his lips. His hand drifted along her side and tickled her, causing her to pull away with a laugh.

He looked down at the hand touching her, seeing the waterproof tattoo painted along her stomach. His fingers traced it for a bit, noting the strange design. She twitched when he went over the ticklish part again.

"Stop it," she playfully tugged his low ponytail, "Or else no more kisses."

The half threat was successful.

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	2. Chapter 2

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When Leon made his way over to the other side of the pool, Sora unhooked her feet and got off of him in order to get her gear.

She bent over and swiftly grabbed her stuff.

While she had been doing that, Leon couldn't help but admire the open back of the mermaid outfit as well as the way the sun shined against her still slightly wet bare legs.

She didn't really know it, but she was an attractive young woman.

He had reached out to touch her long red hair when she suddenly straightened up. His hand dropped down. He was aware that she wouldn't have minded the touch, but he didn't want to seem so grabby.

As of late, he was finding that he wanted frequent contact with her.

He knew he was physically attracted to her as well as emotionally, but he was still somewhat nervous about overwhelming her. She had shied away during the Hades and Persephone chase scene when his desire got the better of him.

_Is it even right for me to have such feelings for her?_

He had been cruel and did many things that, looking back, he took no pride in. He was ashamed, quite frankly.

_Her light doesn't need me ruining it._

He was aware that he was having an effect on her. While it was nothing drastic, he had noticed it. It was something that occurred inevitably when one spent so much time with a person. Little mannerisms, inflections of speech, personal tastes, even displays of affection were some things that could be altered without a person knowing it occurred.

All in all, he was aware of his influence, but he couldn't bring himself to stay away from her.

His soul felt lighter around her and his heart wasn't quite so heavy. Some things weighted on his mind pretty heavily, but they didn't feel so stifling.

The love in him said that he should stay.

Whether it was good or not, he listened to that advice.

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She turned around with a smile on.

Her eyes noticed that his white shirt was damp. _Aw shoot. That was my fault._

She opened her mouth to apologize for getting his shirt wet when it slowly closed as her eyes idly registered how the wet spots looked peachy as it stuck to his skin. Her cheeks tinted as the shirt clung to his abdominal muscles.

"Sora, are you ready to go?"

She gave her head a little shake. "Ah, I got my stuff."

Leon's head tilted to the side as he saw the rosy color of her cheeks. _It can't be sunburn since they weren't red before. _He looked down at himself to see if there was something to have caused her flushed face.

Sora gulped when he looked back at her with a lazy smirk.

"Do you like what you see?"

Flustered she blurted out, "Oh like you weren't checking me out a few moments ago!"

She squeaked as she inadvertently answered his question. Her lips pursed as she attempted to prevent any other embarrassing comments from slipping out.

He laughed. "I do not deny that I was."

Her blush intensified. She began to walk past him when his arm snaked around her waist and brought her back to his chest. She instinctively let go of the things in her hands in order to brace herself for the impact.

Her hands rested along his chest as his free hand lightly gripped her chin.

"I thought I told you that you are free to look at me," he lowly murmured. "It's a long term privilege."

"You're still arrogant," she pouted.

He gave her a roguish grin and then kissed her. Her hands slid up his chest a little as his kiss sent a short jolt of electricity along her body. He pulled back and looked at her lidded eyes.

_Something tells me that she likes the contact._

The thought prompted a short kiss and then a lingering slow one. He pulled back slowly, keeping contact with her lips for as long as possible. When the kiss finally broke, she had a little dazed look on her face.

He let out a small smile at that.

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	3. Chapter 3

AN: Shout outs to Mynameiseverchanging for being the first reviewer and xXrebelgirl07Xx for being the first to favorite the story! And of course to may96 for the first follow! :D

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Since _The Little Mermaid_ was showing, their schedules were less intense, especially with the new performer applications coming in. Kalos and the heads of the stage were going over them. The actual tryouts were near the end of summer and Kalos wanted a small committee of performers to be there.

_"Naturally," Kalos had said in a meeting, "Sora and Leon will be there."_

That was two days ago.

"How am I supposed to judge someone's performance?" Sora half whined as she waited for May to finish dressing. "They've all worked really hard just to get there."

May scoffed behind her bedroom door. "That's why Kalos wants a committee!" Some rustling of clothing replaced her voice momentarily. "If it were all up to you, _everyone_ would make the tryouts!"

"…Would that be bad?"

"Of course it would be! They're freaking tryouts!" Her door swung open. "If _everyone_ makes it, then what's the point of having them? Why not just let _anyone_ come in and join the stage?"

When Sora seemed to be considering her words, May bit out, "I wasn't seriously asking you those questions. You're such an idiot!"

Sora bristled. _How are we friends again?_

Sometimes, she forgot the reason.

The Chinese acrobat went into the bathroom to brush her hair. "Are you wearing that to the barbeque potluck?"

She blinked and looked down at her outfit. "What's wrong with it?"

May turned her head to look over her clothes. _Cute sandals, shorts, red hair in a messy bun…_

"That shirt needs to go. It's too long."

"Yours is longer."

"Mine," she started as she deftly braided her hair, "is netted. You can see my bikini top underneath."

Sora crossed her arms.

May rolled her eyes. "Look, do you remember our flirty clothes discussion? That's all I'm saying right now."

She turned around to the sink countertop to look for a hair tie in her accessories holder. "I'll make it simple: you go back and put something flirty on or else I'll _make _that shirt flirty with a pair of _scissors_ and you won't have a say on the design."

That got the redhead out of her room.

May deviously grinned to herself in the mirror. "Still got it."

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AN: Oh May, you're too much sometimes. XP


	4. Chapter 4

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The barbeque potluck was on the beach near the end of the day. People were welcomed to stay for the bonfire afterwards.

After putting her bowl of fruit salad down on the table, Sora bent over to take off her sandals. She let out a giggle as the warm, soft sand got between her toes.

"I'm surprised you didn't do rabbit parfaits."

She grinned as Leon placed his dish down. "Did you want me to make you one?"

He softly scoffed, but did not verbally reply to that. She smiled to herself. _He didn't deny it._

Curious about what was under the foil of Leon's dish, she made to uncover it. Leon saw the hand and swiftly grabbed it.

"If I wanted it uncovered, it would be."

"I'll put it back."

He put himself between her and the table, making her step into him.

"Do I need to make you behave?"

She flushed as his arms wrapped around her. "No. It'll be just a quick peek." When he started to step away from the table with her still in his arms, she continued to talk. "Is it a potato salad? Or did you try making some _tamagoyaki_?"

"Or," she quickly boosted herself up, which prompted Leon to adjust his hold, "did you make a Raspberry Charlotte?"

"No."

"To which?"

"All of them."

Her fingers twirled some of his hair. "Hot dogs?"

He paused and gave her an affronted look that read '_never_.'

She giggled. "Good thing you didn't. They're already making some on the grill with the hamburgers."

Leon looked over at the small group working the grill.

Ken happened to look up from flipping a hamburger patty when he spotted the Frenchman staring. A few seconds passed with nothing happening, then, the young man gave a short wave of his spatula. Leon gave a little nod back.

Then, both turned their heads away.

_Progress_.

A few months ago, the young man would have frowned at him, especially with Sora sitting on his forearms as her legs dangled on either side of his waist. Leon was aware that the carrot top had feelings for Sora, but from what he heard, she never really showed Ken any romantic interests.

Said young woman had her hands on his shoulders as she nudged the side of his face with her nose.

"You ok?"

His eyes shifted over to her face. "I brought a dessert."

She blinked at the sudden return of the food topic. Then, she grinned at him mischievously.

"Chocolate kisses?"

"I wouldn't think you'd want me to share that with other people," his hand crept up to her exposed midriff. "But I can oblige you with one."

"Later," she said with a nip to his nose, "I don't want to spoil my appetite."

"Tease," he murmured.

She pulled back when he made to steal a kiss. "I think you're the one that needs to behave."

Her head was slightly tilted down as she looked at him from beneath her red lashes. He took in the way the bonfire highlighted her brown irises and the coy smile playing on her lips.

_We both do._

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AN: PDA, Leon. :P


	5. Chapter 5

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"Did you know," Sora started as she swallowed her mouthful of Leon's _Lemon Soufflé,_ "that there are things in the ocean," her plastic spoon pointed over to the dark waters to her left, "that, during the right time, you can see them glowing in the water?"

"What 'things'?"

She shrugged. "Some microorganism or something."

"During what time?" his spoon scooped up some of her dessert from her container.

She gave him a sheepish smile. "I, uh, don't recall."

At his slow blink, she nudged his side with her elbow. "Wise guy. Not everyone has an incredible memory."

"I said nothing."

She raised an eyebrow.

He ignored it and lifted the small dessert plate he brought over. Upon seeing the various chocolate treats on it, she blinked and then looked around them.

_Anna's too busy talking to Barbara over by the table, Mia and May are out of sight and Rosetta's playing limbo…_

With the coast clear, she turned back to him expectantly, letting him know that she was ready for her chocolate kisses.

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The playful little act started sometime after Valentine's Day.

Leon had taken her Hersey's Kiss since it was dark chocolate and when he took a bite into it, she reacted and retrieved her stolen sweet. He had liked her way of getting it back.

In truth, they've done this a few times already, but she liked it when it involved chocolate.

She kneeled next to him with her hand on his shoulder to help steady her as she reached for the treat he had. Some sort of truffle was being put to his mouth and she leaned against him, taking a bite out of it as their lips brushed. She shivered lightly, the faint touch still getting to her despite the number of times they've kissed.

She chewed the treat, tasting hazelnut and chocolate.

He lifted a much smaller item that had been covered with chocolate. She grinned at him, noting that he probably chose this treat in order for more lip contact. _Not that I'm complaining. _

This time, he offered her the treat first.

She took it from his palm and bit into it a little.

He bent over, his now loose hair coming from over his shoulders as he kissed her and took the whole treat. She giggled as she leaned up and bit off a piece of it as they kissed.

"Someone's not playing by the rules."

His head went down again. "What rules?" he murmured before his mouth covered hers deliciously, making her part her lips. She mewed a little at the sensation of his tongue, and then he pulled away from her, chewing his treat.

As she took in his smug smirk, she realized _why _he was so smug.

"You stole my half of the chocolate almond!"

"Yes," his eyes lidded as he looked at her, "and what a treat it is."

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AN: Still being a rascal...


	6. Chapter 6

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They shared a beach towel to lie on the sand around the bonfire.

"Why is it," she started as her arm lay across his body, "that you're always so warm?"

Her head lay on his chest while his arm was wrapped around her. His hand over her waist had been slowly stroking her side. Her half shirt left her midriff uncovered, a sight that did not displease him, and it allowed him access to her soft skin.

The hand paused upon hearing her question.

He was sure there was a biological reason of some sort, but his mind was taking it another way. His personality he would not consider to be 'warm' and yet his body and touch was.

It was paradoxical.

"Why indeed."

Her eyes were closed as his body heat combined with the bonfire to make her drowsy. Even in her languid state, she heard the tone of his voice and it did not sound like he was answering the way she thought he would. Really, she was just saying it as a rhetorical question, but if he had answered, she would have been expecting something arrogant or superior.

He had been wistful in his response and it made her wonder what he was thinking about.

"Whatever the reason," she rubbed her cheek against him, "I'm glad you are."

His arm tightened his hold on her and brought her soft body closer to his.

Grey eyes looked up at the stars as he held her, letting his thoughts drift about. Once in a while he held onto one, teasing it out as he dreamt about holding her like this for days on end if he were a better man and more deserving of that dream.

His mind presented the image of Sora in her Persephone costume, with flowers in her hair and a white toga on. Then, he thought of the wedding of Kalos and Sarah a few months ago and how he danced with her as she told him he had her heart.

_Perhaps_, he dangerously thought as the dream infected his mind, _that's why I liked seeing her in white._

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AN: Dream on Leon! (in an encouraging tone) :)


	7. Chapter 7

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A few weeks later, Sora had her dresses laid out on her bed.

Her brows furrowed as she looked down at the shoes by the bed and then back up at the dresses. _Red, blue, or silver…_her eyes stopped on the two other dresses, _fuchsia or the flowers one?_

Her hands gripped her hair in frustration for the second time within twenty minutes.

"Why is this so hard?!"

Maybe she was making this more difficult than it needed to be…

With a huff, she stomped over to her closet to see if there was an outfit she overlooked. _No, no , no…_ She slid over the hangers as she dismissed the choices. Upon reaching the skirt she got with May a few months ago, she paused on it. She tilted her head in thought as the transparent top part fluttered as she pulled it out of the closet.

It was a newer fashion for her, with the front part of the skirt being mid-thigh and then the back flowed down almost to the floor. She bought it because when the transparent layer lay on the solid indigo skirt, the little specks of silver on the first layer made it look like the night sky.

Her eyes drifted over to her earring and necklace stand where the star earrings Leon gave her were waiting for her to pick up.

That had pretty much made her decision.

With a sigh, she put the skirt down on the bed and made her way over to her front door. Earlier, May had offered to lend a pair of shoes—more like told her she needed to borrow from her because she lacked interesting heels—for tonight.

She had kicked her friend out, not wanting to cause another embarrassing scenario regarding her lack of "proper" undergarments.

"If she's got silver shoes, I'm going to have to beg for them." She wasn't really looking forward to that, but it would be a worthy cause.

Their one year anniversary was today, after all.

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AN: I'm sorry if it seems like I'm going fast, but I do not intend the sequel to be as long as _Shifts in the Days_ so there will probably be more jumps in time. Though, I will take a few chapters to do a scene when I feel the need to. (like this one).


	8. Chapter 8

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Leon had volunteered his place for their dinner.

He had been a little distracted when he went to get her. He had snapped out of it upon seeing the vision she was; he was more than pleased with the sight of her wearing his gift again.

They had some playful banter and a few kisses on the way back to his place and when he brought out the food However, during the meal, as he stole glances at her, he started to draw back into his mind.

"Are you done?"

He blinked at her question. "Yes."

She stood up and put her dirty plate on top of his. He was about to stand with a protest on the tip of his tongue, however, she smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I got it." With a peck on the lips, she retreated to the kitchen, the back of her skirt floating behind her.

_She truly is magnificent._

He had no doubt about that; he was not blind to the gift that she was to him and how he was blessed that she did not shy away from him despite his past.

His fingers tapped on the table as his thoughts made him restless.

After a while, he stood up and found her in his kitchen, rinsing off the plates and then putting them in his dishwasher. She started to hum a little as she pushed the soap dispenser to wash her hands.

In that moment, he felt a stirring of strong emotion.

It was such an insignificant scene, something so mundane and routine, yet he could not stop looking at her. His feet quietly traveled across the kitchen, barely registering the sound of running water as she went about cleaning up.

His mind was filled of the dreams of her and him, and he could not let them go.

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She jumped a little when his arms went around her waist.

When his face buried against the side of her neck, she turned off the water and tilted her face towards him.

"Leon?"

He did not speak for a few moments. She waited, making sure that her wet hands stayed over the sink. He finally murmured something, the cadence and the smooth low voice of his registering in her ears.

"What was that?"

His arms wrapped tighter around her and his face was flush against her neck.

"_Je_ _t'aime._"

Her body stiffened a little as his lips brushed her skin. The words from his native tongue were unknown to her, but the emotion behind the sounds, the intimate caress that they carried made her warm.

_It…sounded like a reveal or a confession…_

Her heart thudded loudly. She swallowed hard as the words to _ask_ him what he said burned her tongue. But the words that finally came out were not what she had initially intended to say.

_"Aishiteru," _she whispered, as if anything above that range of speaking would break the moment currently occurring between them.

Her cheeks were rosy from saying such an intimate emotion.

She knew that he knew just as much Japanese as she did French, which totaled to barely anything. But here in this space of time, it felt right to say it in her mother language where the meaning of what she had just spoken was not often expressed out loud as in some of the other cultures she has encountered.

For her, it was an expression of how much he meant to her, even if he did not understand her. Saying it aloud made her acknowledge what was changing in her and in both of them, for if her guess was correct, Leon was feeling the change as well.

She did tell him in a roundabout way that her heart was his, but she had not told him without a play of words. On some level, she was afraid to say it in English; she did not know what would come out of expressing her feelings straight forward.

_What will he want? What can occur?_

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Unknowingly, Leon had similar thoughts.

He meant the words he said to her and if she happened to know what they meant, he would not take them back. It might be a little cowardly for him to have said it in French, but coming from him, a man who was seen as cold and impassive, the verbal step had been made, signifying the progress he had made.

He was changing inside and by the tenderness he heard from her whisper, he tentatively hoped that a similar change was occurring within her as well. However, there were things for him to think about before he proclaimed anything in English.

_What can I give? What will she accept?_

Those were the core thoughts that ran through his mind as he felt her lean back onto his chest. Her head rested along the side of his face; he turned towards her, placing a brief kiss on her soft lips and then he resumed his previous position.

They stayed in that embrace long enough for her hands to air dry.

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AN: Daww...these two...

Unrelated note to this story: for those who have read Tangled Magic, there is a poll on my profile regarding a possible one shot. I would appreciate it if you can take a quick moment to vote on that.


	9. Chapter 9

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Two weeks after their anniversary dinner, Sora was in her dressing room taking off her headdress for the mermaid costume.

Things between them still involved time together, their morning practices, and the bantering that they were both fond of; however, there was an underlining tension that kept her on her toes. There were moments when she'd think Leon was about to say something, but then it passed, leaving him in a quiet mood and her a little frustrated.

_What did he want to say?_

Did it have to deal with what she said on their anniversary? Did he want to ask her about it, but feared what it was?

She hung her costume up for wardrobe to pick up.

On knock on her door interrupted her as she was patting the material to make sure it was dry enough to hang.

"Coming!"

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He had been pacing around the hallways after her performance.

He had seen her perform it already, but today had been her last day before Rosetta took over for the last half of the Little Mermaid performances.

He had been mentally exhausting his thoughts as of late and came to a conclusion after he had seen her teasingly wetting the kids in the front row with her fake flipper.

He wanted her as his wife.

The only question that left him a little anxious was whether she would want him for a husband. It sounded so strange in his mind because he had never really thought that he would want to be in that position. Sora was so selfless and endearing; he didn't find it hard to see her as a wife and mother.

It was just her being married to _him_ that he had trouble seeing. It was not a matter of not caring or loving her, for he did—more than he had thought was possible for him to feel for another person.

It was about whether or not he was husband material.

He technically didn't have a stable job. The performing careers depended on many factors that were outside of his control. He lived in a one bedroom apartment with no close family members to welcome her into. There were no in-laws for her to ask questions about him that he may not be comfortable answering or anyone from his end that she could bond with.

_I highly doubt that she would bond with Alen._

His old instructor was the only person that he had to label as an acquaintance. He burned many bridges in his life that, upon further reflection, he suddenly wished he hadn't done.

There was nothing he could give her but himself.

Even that might not be so appealing for something potentially long lasting as marriage. Tiredly, he ran a hand through his hair. _Do I even deserve the right to ask?_

He paused in his pacing as he blankly stared at the wall.

_This is not me._

This hesitancy, this insecure feeling inside…since when did he hold back on his feelings or let uncertainty stop him simply because he was afraid of the _possibility_ of rejection before he even found out if it were to occur or not?

The inward reflection made him straighten his spine.

With bold steps, he went to her dressing room.

He did not think any more on the matter for fear of losing his courage. He wanted to face her without his doubt and with pride and strength. Firmly, he knocked on her door and waited as he heard her call out. The doorknob turned, he had what he wanted to say ready.

She appeared with a smile and the pre-decided words scrambled around in his brain until it formed new words.

"I love you," slipped out of his mouth.

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AN: I'm a romantic...XD


	10. Chapter 10

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When he spoke, she had been startled by his words.

Apparently, he had been too for his eyes were slightly wide after that declaration. It was not what he was initially going to say, but the words were out already.

"What?"

Her breathy question brought him back to her. Her lips were parted in astonishment as her hand was lightly clenched over her heart. He looked straight into her eyes.

"You did not mishear me."

Seconds passed as they stood in front of each other. Marvel and joy entered her eyes and she threw herself at him. Her hands fisted his hair behind his head and she laid kiss after kiss on his lips.

_"Aishiteru,"_ she heatedly said, _"Aishiteru, _Leon_."_

Her kisses traveled all over his face. By her reaction, he wondered why he hadn't told her sooner.

"Are those words," he paused as he attempted to catch her lips again, "returning my sentiment?"

"Yes!" she merrily laughed, "I love you!"

At her words, he finally connected with her mouth again.

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They were on the floor hallway against the wall.

Sora straddled him as she sat on his lap. His fingers were tangled in her slightly damp hair as they continued kissing. They could not stop, not even when footsteps came nearby and then rapidly backtracked upon seeing the couple.

He was vaguely amused, especially since Sora often grew flustered when people caught them kissing.

Her little sighs of pleasure were making it difficult for him to stop them. While he had meant to eventually tell her that he loved her, those words were not the ones he had originally intended on saying—not that he regretted what did come out. His hands came forward to cup her face and gently, he pulled away from her mouth while he held her in place.

She came forward while he was still very close and his grip very light. He indulged in one last kiss and then quickly moved his head away before she could try that again.

"Leon…"

The soft sound of longing nearly made him come to her, but he was determined to go through with this. His thumbs caressed her cheeks as he mustered up the nerve to ask.

"Can you see me as a husband?"

"_W-What_?"

He wanted to hit his head against the wall. That was _not_ how he wanted to ask her. Throat suddenly dry, he swallowed and then attempted it again.

"Could you—would you consider me as a potential husband?"

_Clearer, but still not quite the way I imagined it._ What was _wrong _with his talking abilities today? He was no silver tongued speaker, but still…

"Is this what you've wanted to ask me for the past two weeks?"

He murmured a bit sheepish, "In actuality, the idea crossed my mind sooner, but I had not seriously considered it until after the anniversary."

Tears welled up in her eyes.

He slightly frowned when a few fell down and wet his hands. He did not like to see her cry, whether they were her "good tears" or not. In the beginning, when he first came here, her tears had only slightly bugged him, but he had no qualms about his behavior—including the time he made May cry after injuring her shoulder.

Now though, the thought of causing her tears made him upset with himself.

"As _my_ husband?"

He gave a small nod, not trusting his speaking abilities just yet.

She smiled, which caused more tears to roll down. "Why wouldn't I be able to see that?" She gave a shaky laugh. "You've been my choice for a while now."

His hands tilted her face up and his mouth immediately covered hers. He kissed her long and deeply; her hands came up to his as she returned the kiss with as much fervor.

When they parted for air, he rested his forehead against hers.

Her thumbs rubbed the back of his hands; he had his eyes closed while he enjoyed the moment, but then they opened when she stopped the motion.

"Does this mean we're engaged?"

He nipped her nose in response.

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AN: I had actually wanted to start the sequel around here, but I felt that it would have been a really big jump from _S__hifts in the Days_ where they both hadn't told the other that they loved him/her to them suddenly being engaged. :P


	11. Chapter 11

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They were sitting at her table eating some ice cream.

Sora gathered herself and then finally said why she called May over.

"I think I'm engaged."

May's spoon stayed in her mouth as her eyes snapped up to hers. Slowly, she removed the spoon from her mouth as she swallowed her chocolate chip and mint ice cream.

"You want to run that by me again?"

With her spoon, Sora picked at the piece of black cherry in her cup. She wasn't completely sure what May would feel or say about her news, but she seemed to be the safest choice.

Mia and Marion wouldn't be able to keep it a secret.

Anna…it might be a touchy issue for her given that her dad left the family when she was young.

Ken wasn't an option. She had a feeling that she shouldn't.

And Rosetta, she wasn't sure what the younger girl thought about marriage. Sora had only seen and heard about her mother, so she didn't want to risk stirring up any sad memories or bad ones.

While Sarah might have been ideal, she was no longer living at the dorms. After training Anna to be dorm supervisor, she moved into hers and Kalos' place.

May was the only one left.

"I said that I think I might be engaged."

Calmly—perhaps too calmly—May put her spoon in her cup and pushed it aside. "That's what I thought you said." She put her elbows on the table and laid her forearms on the surface. "What do you mean _you think _you might be engaged?"

Slowly, Sora heard May's voice rise in pitch.

"You either are or you aren't; there are no in-betweens with things like this!" With a huff, she leaned forward. "Did he get on one knee?"

"Well no, he just—"

"What about a ring?"

"Ah, not that I noticed, but—"

"Did he actually _ask _you to marry him?"

Sora sheepishly ducked her head a little. "Did it have to be in those exact words?"

May dropped her forehead against her arms.

"You two," came her muffled voice, "are driving me _insane! _Your communication skills suck!" Her head popped up from her arms and she stood up, still leaning towards Sora with a finger pointing at her.

"You need to _verify _that and if you _are_ planning to enter an engagement, you need to think and _discuss_ in actual words what you each are hoping for in a marriage!" May straightened up from her position. "I've had relatives that don't talk these things out _before_ getting married and they didn't end up too happy. They resent each other and that's no way to live."

May sat back down and continued to eat her ice cream.

Sora's eyes were staring off into space as she thought about May's words.

_What I want in a marriage…_

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AN: Love Guru May comes out again. Her work will never be done. XD


	12. Chapter 12

AN: I almost posted this in _Insidious!_ Wooo...two different types of stories; it would have been funny to see the reactions to it though. :P

Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad people like May. :)

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Sunday morning she came over to his place for a late breakfast.

The doorbell rang and he answered it in his casual clothing of a white t-shirt and some light grey pants. His hair was back in a low ponytail since the summer was still hot. He opened the door to see Sora in a pale yellow sundress and sandals with her hair in a high ponytail.

Before he could greet her with words, she spoke first.

"Are we engaged?"

He slowly blinked. "Good morning to you too."

She flushed a little at her lack of manners. "Good morning, Leon." In apology for the abrupt question, she tiptoed to kiss his cheek and then walked in when he stepped aside. By the doorway, she slipped her sandals off and wiggled her toes against his soft beige carpet.

He closed the door and then, when she was done getting her shoes off, he led her over to the couch in his living room.

She automatically folded a leg beneath her as she sat on the cushion. With more grace, Leon eased himself onto the couch next to her. She looked at him and saw that he was waiting for her to speak.

Nervously, she fiddled with her skirt.

"I, uh, I realized that we didn't exactly talk about it after we admitted our feelings. I don't take my words back," she quickly added, hoping that he didn't mistake her tone.

"I love you," her cheeks tinted, "I truly do mean that. It's just, I was thinking about…us," her hand gestured between them, "and I realized that there are some things that I need to make sure of before I accept your proposal."

Realizing that he still hadn't exactly asked her, she hastily finished with, "_If_ you do ask me."

She paused in order to let him speak. He was quiet as he took in her fidgety form. Her hands started to wrinkle the dress as she waited for his response.

"Tell me what you need to," he finally said.

Her hands released the fabric. Never really been one for beating around the bush for too long—if at all—she took a breath and then started with a main topic on her list that could be a deal breaker, despite her feelings for him.

"I want kids."

Something flitted across his eyes.

With a bit of a blush, she pushed on, no matter how embarrassed she might feel about saying these things. "Maybe not a lot, like five, but I know that having a family is something I want in a marriage. If…you don't want kids, I will not be upset with you, but I don't think I can marry you."

She momentarily stopped to gauge his reaction.

His head was tilted to the side as he looked at her, thinking about things she could only imagine. She was aware that he had not been excited about the creation of the Kids' Stage three years ago, but she was hoping that it didn't mean that he was not open to the idea of having children in the future.

_It might have been more about his personal preference to whom he was performing in front of rather than a particular dislike of children in general._

He had said that it would have been inhibiting her abilities to grow as a performer; but that was years ago. Surely now that he has been here and performing more childlike shows like the clown act he did meant that his view of children was not in the negative.

Her leg began to bounce a little anxiously.

His hand came over to rest upon her wiggling leg. His thumb ran along her skin; the motion made her leg still.

She looked up from his hand to see him staring at her with lidded eyes.

"Go on," he murmured.

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AN: Methinks he likes that idea...XP


	13. Chapter 13

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Sometime during their talk, they inched over towards each other and sat without any space between them. One of his hands was sandwiched between her smaller ones as she idly followed the veins and bones in his hand.

"I don't like yelling."

He looked down at her petite hands cradling his much larger one. "I'm not prone to do so."

She tilted her head as she thought about the situations she saw him in. While he has been angry before—usually in scenarios involving Yuri—she could not recall seeing him shouting. There were the spitting of words and maybe seething, but not really the harsh raised levels of yelling at someone.

She let out a small smile. "Your turn."

He had already said that he wouldn't like it if his future wife worked while pregnant. That one brought out some objections from her, such as being able to at least instruct while in the early stages of pregnancy. He allowed a compromise, but warned that he was not sure how he'd feel about it during the actual occurrence.

He wanted her to have access to his bank account for whenever she needed anything, big or small. She had protested a little at that as well, saying that she had her own money but he reiterated that he simply wanted her to have _access_ to it in case some emergency would occur, not that she could only pull money from his own funds.

The rewording made it acceptable to her, which she then added that the reverse should happen with her account as well.

He had frowned a little at the idea.

She had continued and said that she wanted him to be able to depend on her as a partner not only on the stage but in life. After hearing that, the idea was more amendable to him.

"We will need someplace bigger," he stated.

She looked around a little, gauging the size of the place. If it was just the two of them, the apartment was fine, however, when they do decide to have kids, it will not be enough space.

"We don't have to find another place right away," she said.

He nodded in agreement; glad that she would not ask for a house right away. It wasn't that they didn't have enough money, but owning a house required a lot more maintenance and payments than just an apartment. He would rather ease their way into a married life rather than rushing in soon after the wedding and honeymoon buy a house and rack up the expenses.

He lived in impoverished conditions before; he wasn't inclined on returning to it.

Bringing her attention back to him with a light squeeze of their hands, she stopped looking around and patiently waited for another wish he would have within a marriage.

"There is only one bedroom here, however, even when we move, I would like to share it."

Her cheeks burned as his free hand slid along her calf. She eeped a little when he leaned over her to place a kiss along her pulse.

"Would that be agreeable to you?" he lowly murmured into her ear.

She did not dare to turn her head and see his face. She swallowed hard, hoping that her voice did not squeak or crack as she answered him.

"That's fine."

He smiled then, a look that would have made her pulse go even faster had she been looking. It was filled with satisfaction and the pleasure of things to come that he would gladly share with her on numerous occasions.

He lightly brushed his lips along her jaw as he pulled away to sit back down.

Her hands twitched, feeling the thrill of contact that he was bestowing on her more frequently. She was not totally unaware of what his request implied. After all, she said she wanted kids and they were typically created through physical means.

Though, besides what she learned in school about sex, it didn't mean she was completely knowledgeable about it.

Her breath caught at the image of the languid form of Leon. His ponytail spilled along his front as his half-closed eyes watched her with the full knowledge that she was looking back. His fingers lightly caressed her shin on the couch and her stomach was aflutter with those infamous butterflies that flew as if their lives depended on it.

He was assuring her of their chemistry without even trying.

Not that she really needed the reminder.

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	14. Chapter 14

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May waited a whole week before she confronted Sora about her situation with Leon.

Or lack of.

_Even with all that time, I wouldn't be surprised if they still haven't talked._

She rolled her eyes. It was most likely the case. She'd bet her next paycheck on them _still_ unsure about their "engagement."

May gave Sora's door a set of quick raps and then waited.

The door opened and Leon stepped out of the dorm room. May blinked at the sight of his usually neat hair being slightly ruffled, the difference being more noticeable with the ponytail he kept it in during the summer. He gave May a nod and then walked down the hallway towards the stairs.

_Did I just interrupt a make-out session?_

May walked in to see Sora was standing next to the couch with her braid half undone. The redhead's cheeks were still a little flushed and the pillows were on the floor or about to fall off of the couch.

"Did you need to talk to me?"

May's eyes lazily turned back to Sora. "You should put some sort of a warning on the door if you don't want people interrupting."

"I'm not going to do that!"

The Chinese acrobat primly leaned against the armrest of the couch. "I didn't say to write 'Leon inside. Come back in an hour,' now did I?"

Sora sputtered at the devious grin on May's face. May soon waved off Sora's embarrassment in favor of getting straight to the point.

"So have you two talked about what I said?"

Sora pursed her lips at the slightly bossy tone of voice, but shrugged it off. May meant well even if she was a little abrasive at times.

"Yes, we did. Thank you for suggesting it."

When that was all Sora said, May crossed her arms with a huff.

"_Well?_"

"Well what?"

"Are you engaged or are you stuck in limbo? Come on now, spill it!"

A little shy, Sora lifted her left hand to May. The acrobat spotted the single diamond on the silver band. _Classic engagement ring_. Nothing wrong with that, though she hoped he'd come up with something more unique for the actual wedding ring for Sora's sake.

May nodded in satisfaction. "So you've been engaged for about a week then?"

"Ah, well he proposed two days ago, but the ring wasn't ready until this morning."

May slapped a palm against her forehead. _Hopeless!_

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	15. Chapter 15

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Sora should have prepared herself, but she really hadn't known _how_ she'd tell her friends that she was engaged. Ideally, doing a one-on-one sort of plan like with May would be less stressful, but there really wasn't much time for that now that summer was coming to an end.

The tryouts were coming fast and they just barely formed a committee of judges.

May had jumped on board soon after the conversation she had with Sora about the tryouts, figuring that if she didn't balance out the redhead's scoring Kalos would be hiring double the amount of people than he had intended. Plus, May wasn't keen on the idea of letting just anyone be a part of the Kaleido Stage.

They did have a reputation to uphold.

Sora was obviously a nice judge, but she'd most likely be more lenient about the scoring. Ken was also a nice judge, but having been with the Kaleido Stage for more years than the others, he knew what sort of things to look out for and what mistakes were detrimental and which ones were easily fixed with practice.

Leon was like May in being more critical of form, but he valued an intuitive ability of motion as well as some other factor that made the performance stand out. After all, it was why he stayed even though Sora made mistakes during the Saiyuki performance.

And Kalos would be the tie breaker should the need arise.

"Now that we've gone through the applications," Kalos said from his chair behind the desk as he conducted the meeting, "this weekend will be the tryouts. For those on the committee, be prompt and come in professional wear."

From her seat with Leon leaning against the armrest, Sora raised a hand for Kalos' attention.

"Hey Boss, we don't have to wear heels, do we? It's still pretty hot."

Oblivious to which hand she had up, Sora was surprised when Mia called out her name in slight disbelief.

"Is that a _ring_ on your finger?!"

Sora's right hand had been playing with the strands of Leon's hair so she had raised her left hand because of that. Leon was angled towards the desk and group, blocking out the view of her touching his hair except for maybe Kalos but the man didn't comment on the sight.

As long as she heard what Kalos was saying, he couldn't care what she did in the meantime.

Sora's cheeks tinted at Mia's question. That was all the room needed before it erupted in happy shrieks and the rush of movement.

"Congratulations!"

"You sly, sly girl you! Why didn't you _say_ something?!"

Mia began to bombard her with questions about the date of the wedding, what dress she'd wear, what about the bridesmaids and other things.

Leon stayed seated on his perch as his fiancée was hit with most of the load. A few managed to address him—it was obvious who the groom to be was seeing as they've been seen together on several occasions—and some even shook his hand.

He had been slightly surprised that Ken not only shook his hand, but wished them the best. Leon had seen the young man's eyes widen as Mia brought up the ring. He had even noticed that Ken was the last one to come over and congratulate them.

Given all of these things, he had not expected to be offered a hand.

Leon felt a smidgen of respect for the young man.

"We're not done with the meeting," boomed Kalos' voice, though not at a shouting level, "You can all talk afterwards."

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	16. Chapter 16

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After that meeting, their engagement spread like wildfire.

For the next few days, Sora was congratulated, hugged, shook hands with, and was even cried on by a few people that naturally teared up by happy things.

"You'd think I won the lottery or something," she mumbled under her breath.

Leon tilted his head towards her as he kept an eye on the road. "What is like that?"

"Being engaged."

"You think being affianced is like winning the lottery?" A half smirk formed on his face. "Should I be flattered by the comparison or take this as a warning?"

She gave his arm a slight shove. "I'm not a gold-digger thank you very much!"

"I didn't say you are," he amusedly said.

"Oh you implied it."

"How was my implication worse than yours?"

"Mine," she started with a tilting of her chin, "was what _others_ take our engagement as."

He shook his head at her assessment. "Now I'm not sure if I should be offended, knowing that the comparison was from someone else's point of view."

"You're not a lotto winning," she said as Leon pulled into a parking space in front of the café.

Leon shifted into the parking gear and turned off the engine. "Then what am I like?"

"You're you," she softly said, "isn't that enough without needing to add some kind of monetary comparison?"

Her statement stilled him for a few moments. During the silence, her hand with the ring came to lay on his hand still on the gear. He looked at her with renewed appreciation as she looked back with renewed resolve.

"It is more than enough," he lowly responded.

She beamed at him as he unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over her. She followed his lead, unbuckling hers as she leaned forward and let him come the rest of the way.

He met her mouth with fervor, making it deep from the very beginning and loving the way she mewed and clung to him from around his neck.

What with everyone coming to congratulate them, they had been short on alone time.

So despite being in a parking lot during lunch hour with many passer-byers, she allowed herself to close her eyes and enjoy the kiss.

Her hand came up to cradle the one stroking her face and when she felt the cool touch of the silver band around his finger, she felt her heart begin to race at the reminder that, months from now, he would be hers and she would be his.

She pressed herself closer to him as the reminder fueled her emotions.

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	17. Chapter 17

AN: Here's a longer chapter. Enjoy! :)

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Sora shifted on the uncomfortable foldable chair as Leon sat down next to her.

Ken soon followed, pulling out the chair on the left of her behind the long table that was in front of the four of them. He smoothed the front of his white and blue plaid shirt and then waved a hand to Sora.

She gave a little wave back and then turned forward when Kalos came to the table.

"Here are copies of the applications. They're in order so you do not have to shuffle through them. If someone is not here yet, we will skip them for now and then come back to them at the end if they come before the end of the tryouts."

After putting the papers down, Kalos walked over to his seat on the side.

May sat on the right of Leon in a nice short sleeved blouse and navy blue skirt with matching heeled sandals. "If they can't even make it on time, we shouldn't even bother with them."

The redhead's nose wrinkled at May's idea.

She leaned forward in order to see May next to Leon. "There could be unforeseen circumstances that they had no control over," Sora argued. "We shouldn't penalize them for that."

"Let me guess," May drawled with a flat expression on her face, "you were late to yours?"

Sora made a little sound, making Leon raise a brow when she turned red faced.

Ken couldn't help but laugh at May's accuracy.

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The next applicant was doing some backflips.

_She's doing them pretty smoothly._

Sora idly slipped her right foot out of her shoe. She wore red and white wedges to go with her short dress, preferring them over heels especially in the summertime.

Though, she'd rather be barefoot at the moment.

_At least there's a long tablecloth so no one will know._

She clicked her pen as she scribbled down some notes on the paper.

"So Sharon," Ken asked after the applicant finished her two minute performance, "why do you want to be a part of the Kaleido Stage?"

"I like entertaining my little cousins, so I liked that this stage focuses on the children and family shows," Sharon replied with enthusiasm.

Sora smiled at that. _She's got my vote._

"You seemed a little shaky with your handstand," May cut in, "how long have you been performing?"

Sora frowned a little at May's tone. Leon looked over at her, knowing that May's critique probably got a reaction out of her.

"A handstand is a simple move," he said low enough for her to hear. "She should be more confident in performing them if she wants to be on the stage."

"But what if it's just nerves?" she whispered back. "That shouldn't be the sole decider."

"No," he agreed, "but it is something to consider."

"If I was shaky during a handstand and that was the only problem, would you reject me from joining?"

"You?" His eyes lidded, making her wonder what she just got herself into. "If it were you, I'd offer some private lessons."

She blinked at him and then a second later, she stared at him wide eyed as she felt his hand go over to her leg and his thumb rubbed along the side of her thigh.

He nearly smiled at the deep red her cheeks were.

She squeaked at him in a surprisingly low tone. She embarrassedly caught Ken looking over at the situation from the corner of his eye. Just as he was doing a double take of the motion of Leon's hand on her leg, she quickly pushed it off of her.

It was too late; Ken saw her fiancée caressing her leg in the middle of an audition.

"I can't believe you!" she whispered frantically. She knew Leon wasn't concerned about PDA, but this was just going too far.

"No one saw," he languidly replied.

"_Ken did!" _she half hissed out.

The corner of his mouth twitched as a smirk threatened to appear.

She lightly smacked his leg in reprimand.

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Three applicants later, Leon's fingers were running up and down her forearm.

She couldn't find it in her to stop him.

The faint touch sent little shivers up her arm, she liked it very much; so much, in fact, that when Ken caught the sight, she had not stopped Leon, not wanting it to end.

With a sluggish motion, her barefoot found his shoe.

Leon's fingers abruptly halted when he felt her toes slip up into his pant leg and lightly ran along the side of his lower leg. He was quite certain that she was not aware of the implications of her bold action, but he couldn't bring himself to stop her.

The little electric thrills that she was causing felt too good.

He felt her hand nudge his. His fingers moved again, lightly traveling over her palm and then up along the inside of her wrist.

Her breath softly shuddered out of her, which was not only heard by Leon.

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They had a break from the auditions.

May waited until Kalos and the other viewers filed out of the room before she stood up and walked around to the front of the table.

"You two," she pointed at Sora and then Leon, "need to stop being so frisky. We're holding tryouts for goodness' sake! Show some more control or else I'm sitting between you two!"

Ken and Sora flushed.

Leon merely threw his ponytail over his shoulder. "That will not be necessary."

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Sora nodded as the young man in front of her told them his reasons for coming. However, she was pulled out of his talking with Leon's hand on her arm.

"Hands on the table," she stiffly whispered. She didn't feel like getting another lecture from May about them keeping their hands to themselves.

His fingers gave one last stroke of her arm and then were back on the table.

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"Alright, Adriana, so why do you want to perform here?" came Ken's voice.

The teen's eyes stayed on Leon's form even though Ken was the one that addressed her. "I saw the _Saiyuki _and the _Dracula _shows three years ago. I've been a fan ever since!"

Sora blinked when the girl's smile dropped upon looking at her.

_Alrighty then…_

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Adriana's reaction was not the last.

Several performers were huge fans of Leon and apparently resented Sora, judging by the look they shot her. May had been given some dirty looks as well, but the Chinese acrobat had no qualms about shooting them some glares back.

This newest performer was older than the teens that came in, but she still could not take her eyes off of Leon.

Before she was done with the interview, she asked, "Is it true that you're engaged?"

Sora blinked at the question. _Has news traveled that fast?_

Leon gave the young woman a blank expression. "That has nothing to do with your audition." With a wave of his hand, the lady was dismissed.

"Well," May started as she stretched her arms out, "That would explain all the rotten looks Sora's been getting."

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	18. Chapter 18

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Sora stood in front of the newbies as Anna and she inspected their forms.

The newest batch of performers looked promising, but Sora couldn't help but feel that many of them didn't like her.

With a look to Anna, who nodded to her, Sora dismissed them for the day.

"See you all tomorrow!" she cheerily called out.

Some waved back, some ignored her or grumbled something out, while others had very forced smiles on their faces. _Is there anything I can do about it?_

She frowned a little despondently.

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She was at Leon's place for dinner.

Since she'll be moving into his apartment when they get married, they had decided that she come over more often in order to familiarize herself with the place as well as for Leon to get used to the idea of having her there.

But she did not sleep there. She was too nervous to do that.

Lost in thought, she stirred the pot boiling vegetables repeatedly long after Leon told her that she could stop. When she did not respond or move away from the stove, he looked over from his spot by the cutting board to see her arm stuck in stirring mode. With a sigh, he washed his hands and then came over to her.

She started a little when his hand guided hers away from the pot.

"You can let this sit for a while." He took the spoon from her hand.

She rapidly blinked out of her daze. "Oh, sorry about that."

He hmmed, taking a look at her. "Anything you want to talk about?"

She half shrugged. "I don't know if there's anything that can be done, but if you don't mind listening…"

He leaned against the counter, bringing her over with him.

His arms around her made her lean as well, but she didn't mind, especially with the comforting gesture he was giving her. She had noticed that he was trying to be more open to talking, though most of the time, he asked her what was wrong and rarely came to her for things on his mind.

She still had to tease things out of him, but it was a start and she appreciated his effort.

"The new recruits don't seem to like me," she said with a tired sigh, "and I think it's because I'm engaged to you."

"Are you sure that is the reason?"

Sora gave a wiry smile that he did not see, but by her tone of voice, he could tell her mood.

"I've overheard a few recruits mention things along the lines of not being able to have your baby now," she rolled her eyes a little, "while some just said that they'd have to make foolproof plans."

He gave a slow blink to that. He had not expected that sort of evidence.

"Well," he started with the beginnings of amusement, "those plans of theirs are not worth worrying over," his head moved down to her ear to murmur, "seeing as you'll be having my baby in the future."

She eeped and flushed a dark color. He chuckled and kissed her cheek.

Still flustered, she managed to correct him. "_Our_ baby."

He chuckled again.

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AN: Oh, the scariness of extreme fans...XP

Just to clarify, she's not pregnant. They're just talking about the future in general.


	19. Chapter 19

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Sora dashed about his apartment, quickly putting things in their place.

She had a good half an hour before he returned with the groceries she asked him to get for dinner tonight. The navy blue and silver streamers hung around the room with tape. One part started to fall and she dashed over to add two more pieces of tape so it will stick.

She went through a lot of trouble to get this information, what with having Sarah hack into Kalos' office computer and pulling up Leon's personal files while Sora created a diversion to keep the Boss away from his office long enough.

_He probably thinks I'm an idiot._

She had come up with the most ridiculous diversion involving Jonathan's pool, some green dye, and rubber ducks. But it was all worth the effort and slight humiliation.

_…Hopefully._

She wasn't quite sure what he'd think about her prying into his files, but in the past years he hadn't been forthcoming with his birth date.

_Will he be upset like Layla was or be quietly happy about it?_

She hoped it was more along the lines of "quietly happy."

Keys jangled by the front door. She quickly turned off the lights and then ducked behind the couch.

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Leon had the grocery bags in one hand as he tried to unlock the door. He muttered something under his breath, still irritated with his experience at the market.

The place she sent him to had fascinating wares and he, having never been to the Asian market she had found a few years back, had been in a fairly good mood and even bought some food from the kitchen area.

The issue he had was at the next store.

He had impulsively decided to get some baked goods at the nearest super market with the intent of getting an extra big smile out of his fiancée when, low and behold, as he walked into the store and down the aisles, he had been accosted by a fan or two.

_More like fifteen…_he wiry thought.

He didn't quite understand why they approached him, having never really been a person that eluded charisma or the "come hither" look. If anything, his stare intimidated people more often than not.

Apparently, these fans took his impassive face as an invitation.

Trying not to be as harsh as he used to be, he had been fairly polite in his declines for dinner, a movie, a concert, and even someone's birthday party and had even mentioned being taken.

Only a few took that as a sign to back off.

There were rather lewd offers made, even when he bluntly mentioned his upcoming engagement.

One had winked and offered her card, saying that she wouldn't mind being there for his bachelor party or his last gal before "getting hitched." He just walked away at that point, not even bothering to respond to that flat out lascivious offer. He hadn't even purchased anything, having been too fed up to want to stay there long enough to look or to stand in line.

He still wasn't sure if he'd tell her what happened.

_Will it upset her more than she already is about my fans?_

It was a tough call to make.

He finally got the door unlocked and gave it a little push so he could come in. His brows furrowed as the lights were out, though he did notice something glowing over on the table in the dining area.

The door closed and the lights were back on.

Sora popped up from behind the couch and cheered, "Happy birthday!"

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	20. Chapter 20

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He stayed over by the door, his eyes slightly wide. The bags slipped from his hand and fell to the carpet with a barely audible sound.

She put her arms down and waited for him to say something. He didn't have to, but she'll give him a moment to do so.

His eyes were normal again as he looked over at the streamers, the balloons over by the table and the faint glowing of what he could now see were candles on a cake. A gift wrapped box sat next to the cake, and his eyes rested back on her.

When he stayed silent, she walked to him and placed her hands into his. His eyes half closed as she softly brushed her lips against his.

"How did you find out?"

She let out a small smile. "I have my ways."

His brow lifted up as she pressed up again for another brush of lips. "I didn't know," she quietly said between their soft, short kisses, "that you were an October baby."

His hand cupped her cheek as he leaned down to put more pressure on their lips. She sighed into his kiss, her hands coming to his shoulders as his other arm went along her back to bring her against him. She felt him angle his head and the slight insistence of his lips along the seam of her mouth.

Her hands were buried in his hair and his hand along her waist rubbed her side. She let out a mewl as his warm mouth heatedly kissed her with a little more intensity than what was usual as of late.

_Guess this means he's not mad._

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Coming home to her little surprise was just what he needed.

Though, he had to admit, kissing her was something he enjoyed more than the strawberry and dark chocolate cake she made.

They sat on the couch with the dirty plates from their dinner and dessert on the coffee table along with the half-eaten plate of egg rolls and tempura shrimp Leon had gotten at the Asian market. The wrapping paper was on the floor next to the couch and the picture frames she had given him sat on the mantel with his heirloom clock.

One frame held a picture of the cast in the Hades and Persephone costumes. Another picture she had taken with the both of them with the ocean in the background, though the shot was angled and they weren't exactly in the center. The third one she had tracked down, it being the end shot of them embracing for the last scene of the Swan Lake performance a little over two years ago.

The last one he liked, what with the gossamer cloth of her costume floating like wings. It had been the first embrace he truly gave her; during rehearsals, he had merely caught her and made sure she kept her balance. During the actual show, all of the feelings coursing through him made him want to embrace her in appreciation.

It was the beginnings of his feelings of true affection for her.

She shifted on the couch, bringing his attention away from the mantel. She had let him choose a movie and they were now in the middle of watching it.

His arm was along the back of the couch and his fingers lightly stroked her shoulder as she cuddled against his side.

"I'm glad you were born," she said with no prompting, her face tilted up towards his.

His fingers paused at her statement. He could not recall ever being told that.

"For a while," he lowly said as his eyes blankly watched the TV, "I wondered why I was still alive."

More than six years ago, he constantly asked himself that.

He couldn't understand why his sweet sister was the one to die and he was left alive. He, the aloof one, he, the one that found it hard to show compassion to strangers and yet his sister thought the reverse. She had wondered why she couldn't do more for people, even though he told her time and again that she was doing more than enough.

_"Enough?" she had asked him with her pale green eyes bright and clear, "Leon, there's no such thing as enough." She smiled. "I'll have done enough when I'm finally in my grave."_

Her words back then had chilled his insides when she had said them; the recollection brought the cold feeling of the bad omen back into the pit of his stomach…

"You're still alive," Sora tenderly started, her hand reaching up and caressing his face, "so I can love you."

The creeping chill abated.

He saw the emotion flooding her eyes with the flickering light of the TV. He leaned forward, entranced by her and the sincerity of her words. Their foreheads rested against each other, the movie long forgotten. His eyes begged her to speak again, move his heart once more as it yearned for her honeyed words.

"I couldn't touch you," she murmured, her nose bumping against his, "if you were gone."

His hand moved to cradle the back of her head as her fingers ran along his cheek and then to the very edge of his upper lip. Her eyes were half closed as she connected her lips with his.

"I couldn't kiss you, if you weren't here."

He closed his eyes when she brushed against his lips. His hand brought her closer and she came, slowly and softly, with love in each motion.

"I couldn't be your wife," she whispered, "if you couldn't be my husband."

He was overwhelmed with her love. His head came down on her as his mouth completely covered hers. Her hands quickly find his neck as he made her lie down against the cushion, no longer willing to keep her love unanswered, no longer able to stay still with such proclamations.

The two softly moaned, the movie continued to run despite no one watching.

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	21. Chapter 21

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The autumn was upon them and Mia was still struggling.

Anna and Marion looked up from their slices of pumpkin pie and spotted their friend by the desk gripping her long pigtails as she let out a loud sound of aggravation.

"These ideas stink!"

Anna took another bite of her pie. "Have you looked over your notebook of past ideas?"

"Yeah, but they don't really fit the cast we have!"

Marion walked over from the kitchen table to look over Mia's list. She read _Peter Pan_, _Narnia_, _Snow White_…

"What's the _White Bear King Valemon_?"

"It's a Norwegian folk tale; this king is turned into a polar bear because he refused to marry some sorceress or something. A young woman ends up finding him and helps to break the curse." Mia scribbled down some other titles as she spoke. "There was a movie that came out based on it called 'The Polar Bear King'; I saw it as a kid. But I don't think Leon will consent to dressing like a polar bear for most of the show."

"What about _Robin Hood_?" Anna suggested over by the table. "Most people know about that story."

Mia stiffened in her seat. She swiveled around to face Anna with a frown.

"You want a _French_ acrobat to play the leading male of a popular tale from _England_?"

Anna shrugged. "I'm sure Leon won't care."

"That's not the point! _I'll_ worry about it, especially when people from France and England hear about it!" She huffed and turned back to her desk. "I'd like to _not _cause another issue between those two countries, thank you very much!"

"Well, what about _Beauty and the Beast_?"

"Eh," Mia sounded as her pencil tapped the paper, "I feel like that tale's been retold a lot."

"How about something adventurous?" Anna garnished her fork like a sword, "Something swashbuckling and awesome with room for gags!"

"Or secret identities like _The Scarlet Pimpernel_!" squealed Marion for a few seconds before she deflated. "Oh wait, Sir Percy was English even though it was during the French Revolution."

Mia's pencil stopped as her mind computed. _Swashbuckling, swords, adventurous, and with a secret identity…_

She widely grinned. "I've got it!"

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AN: I wonder if people can guess it...


	22. Chapter 22

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A few days later, a sleep deprived Mia presented her rough draft script to Kalos.

He looked over it from behind his desk; the young woman was nearly falling asleep on her feet when the owner placed the script down and stood up.

"It's looks good; we can run it by the others."

She didn't have the energy to squeal and jump around. "Thank you, Boss."

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After a much needed nap, Mia gathered most of her friends into her dorm room.

Ken was the only male, but he was used to being the odd man out, so to speak.

"Sooo," Mia started with a grin on her face, "I just gave a rough copy to Kalos and had someone deliver another one to Sora and Leon in the practice room to see if any of them have any issues, but as it stands, we're good to go on a new production!"

May had her elbow on the armrest and her cheek against her closed hand. "You still haven't told us _what_ that production will be."

With a dramatic twisting of her arm, Mia proclaimed, "_Zorro!"_

"What?!"

"Aw yeah, swashbuckling!"

May's head came off of her fist as she thought about it. "Aren't there scenes that are a little too dark and inappropriate for a family stage?"

Mia wagged a finger. "That's because you're thinking of the 1998 movie version with Antonio Banderas."

The scriptwriter ran over to her desk and came back with her glasses on and several pages of notebook paper. "The actual creation of the character 'Zorro' came from a pulp fiction writer in 1919. The writer was pretty inconsistent with the storyline, having a villain die in one book and then the next one he was still alive," Mia looked up from her notes, "So I really don't see any problems with us creating another adventure that draws from the world of 'Zorro.' We just have to look into needing to pay any royalties for borrowing any portions for our show."

Ken sat up as a thought occurred. "I haven't seen any of the movies or series, but is there even a female lead in them?"

Mia smiled. "I'm glad you brought that up!" The papers rustled as she looked it up. "There have been love interests in the books and other media." She grinned very widely. "But I'm thinking of something along the lines of Catherine Zeta Jones' character 'Elena' from _The Mask of Zorro_."

May snorted. "You just want to have that sexy swordplay scene in there."

"No!" Mia indignantly responded—though the speed and volume of it made May think that she had guessed correctly—"That female character will make a pretty and strong leading role to play alongside Zorro!"

"You mean 'feisty'," May wiry intoned. She sat back and crossed her legs. "I think Sora and Leon are going to _really_ enjoy this production."

Ken turned very red upon hearing that. He still couldn't believe that Leon had been caressing her during the tryouts. _Who knows what will happen during this production?_

"So wait," Rosetta said with some confusion, "if Zorro's a swordsman, then most of the show will be swordplay then?"

"Not necessarily. Zorro's a clever character that uses his wits more than force. Besides, if we can do a _Dracula_ on ice and an _Arabian Nights_ on a flaming, rocking boat, why can't we have a _Zorro _show with some fencing in there?"

"Good point."

"I call dibs on being the gag swordswoman!" Anna cheered.

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Over in the practice room, Sora held the scrip open as Leon looked on with her.

_Leon as Zorro?_

She's seen the poster before, but not the movie. Her head turned a little and from the corner of her eye, she mentally put on the black outfit of Zorro on his figure. The black domino mask mentally appeared on him, covering half of his face. His grey eyes showed through the holes of the mask, mysterious and gleaming with mischief…and currently staring back at her.

She turned forward with a rosy color on her cheeks.

_He'd make an attractive Zorro at the very least._

His chin rested on her shoulder. "Do you know how to fence?"

"N-Not really."

The swordplay from the _Arabian Nights _show wasn't anything formal. It had been pretty messy, but it was exhilarating sword fighting.

He smirked then and his eyes crinkled a little in amusement. She stiffened as his arms went around her waist.

"It looks like there will be private lessons after all."

She squeaked as he murmured those words into her ear. He rumbled out a chuckle and then nipped her cheek.

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AN: The idea wouldn't leave my head. XD But it works well with what I have coming up.

Kudos to AngelStoryTeller for getting it right. :P


	23. Chapter 23

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Sora tugged at the white glove of her fencing outfit.

The strange helmet with the face mesh was peculiar to her, but Leon had insisted on them having all parts of the outfit for safety reasons. The door to the practice room opened with Leon striding in with his helmet under his arm and looking dashing in his fencing outfit.

She was so glad for her helmet at the moment; she could feel her face heating up.

"You don't need the helmet on yet," he said with some amusement. "I need to teach you a few moves before we actually have a match."

_Drat._

She hesitated for a few seconds, hoping that the blush on her face had cooled even just a little bit. Her red hair tumbled out from the helmet, bringing out an appreciative hmm from Leon.

"For starters," he finally said after taking his time to look her over, which did nothing to cool the flush of her face, "a match begins with 'e_n guard_,' '_prêt_,' and then '_allez.'_ These are verbal warnings to take a defensive position, get ready, and then go, _allez_ marking the actual start of the action of the match."

He slipped the foil from his side and held it in his right hand.

"This is a basic starting pose," his weight shifted and his knees bent. The long piece of metal shone as he made some swiping motion with the foil. "Alright, go ahead and get into position."

Sora blinked and then quickly bent her legs, holding her foil up with her right hand.

Leon stepped over and circled her, checking her pose. "Hm."

_What does 'hm' mean?_ She did not get the chance to ask for he came up behind her and pressed against her. She squeaked as he bent his knees with her, adjusting the width of her feet's stance and then flushed a little when his hand came along her left thigh, pushing down on it so she'd put more weight on it.

"Lean back on that leg," he murmured in her ear.

She did as instructed.

His arms came up along hers, moving her left arm more back above the left leg and bending the right arm along the side of her body.

"Good," he said with a brush of his lips against her cheek.

He suddenly straightened up and looked at her form again. She felt the loss of his body heat. Appreciative grey roamed along her pose, seeing the female fighter that she will become.

"Very good."

She felt her stomach squirm upon hearing his tone of voice.

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AN: Just a note, I'm using what I've found online to describe fencing. If you see something that I've misunderstood about the sport, feel free to send me a note about it. :P


	24. Chapter 24

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Most of her friends noticed the change.

Leon was around the Kaleido property more often within the past year, so they weren't surprised to see Sora and him walking around or holding hands.

Though, no one's really seen them actually kissing and stuff.

Ken and May were the only ones that had seen Leon touching her; Marion had seen some caresses before, but she had been peeking into their practices when they forgot to lock the door, so she technically _shouldn't _have seen those.

During his stay here, Yuri had seen them kissing; some other performers saw them necking in the parking lot sometimes, but not her close friends.

So when Mia and Ken had seen Leon hovering above their friend with her back against the wall, they had been a little taken back by it.

The man himself wasn't really doing much. From what they could tell, he was murmuring in her ear, placing little kisses along her face and his hand was caressing her arm.

The young woman's face was rosy and her eyes stayed on him.

Mia and Ken shared a look. Just what was he saying to her?

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Sora let out a breath as his fingers lightly ran along her arm.

He pressed another kiss on her cheek and then murmured something else in her ear. For the life of her, she didn't know _what _he was saying; the French words slipped out of his mouth like warm honey, covering her with his feelings and thoughts that she could only guess on.

_I can see why it's one of the 'romance' languages._

She just wished she _understood_ it.

He kissed her again, this time with a little nip to it. Her lashes fluttered as he traveled past her jawline and to her neck.

"_Je t'aime_," flitted into her ears. _I've heard that before._ She was fairly certain she knew what that meant. Her heart skipped upon hearing it.

"_Je t'aime,_" he murmured again into her skin.

Her hands came about his head; one of them laid against his cheek. His face turned and kissed her fingers. Her head came down to kiss the side of his face. Both continued kissing skin until she made it to his lips. They brushed once, twice, and the third time became a long, opened mouthed kiss.

She mewled as his tongue caressed her, sending jolts of pleasure down her spine.

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	25. Chapter 25

AN: Shout out to 8megami8! I'm very flattered that you like my stories! :D

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In the office of the Kaleido Stage owner, an older man in his late thirties to early forties continued to scroll down the inbox. His frown continued to stay as he scanned message after message of the public response e-mail box for the stage.

High pitched laughter sounded.

Kalos looked over at Sarah on the couch as she clutched several pages in her hand and guffled over its contents.

"This person..hee hee!...listed _fifty_ reasons why Leon would be better engaged to him."

Kalos quirked a brow. "Her?"

"Him." She tittered behind the letter. "Hate to burst his bubble, but I really don't think Leon swings that way."

When Kalos made to look back at his computer, Sarah held her hand up.

"Wait, wait, there's another good one." She looked for another letter on the mess of papers on the coffee table in front of her. "Ah, here it is!" She cleared her throat to read the letter:

'To the Dictator People Controlling the Kaleido Stage,

You all suck –Sarah took a moment to get her giggles under control—majorly. Spamming the fan forums with _rumors _of an engagement between the leading male and female is a very _low_ and _amateur _thing to do just to create a stir with the fans.

What are you hoping we'll all do? Maybe have us buy tickets to see Leon while he's still single? Have an auction for both of them for a date before they tie the knot?

I don't know and I don't care. Just get your act together.

Signed,

A Seriously Displeased Fan'

"That auction thing sounds pretty profitable," Sarah snickered. "Or even selling tickets for Leon's Bachelor Party or Sora's Bridal Shower."

Kalos pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just call those two in here. I've had enough of these kinds of messages."

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They were in the practice room for the fencing instruction.

As soon as the two were there, the air grew a little thick with something.

Sora had felt it before, so she recognized it that way, but she didn't necessarily know what it was exactly. Leon stood before her with lidded eyes. She had a feeling that he was aware of what it was.

She swallowed a little, especially as he approached her with confidence and a bit of a suave air to him.

Her practice foil was up.

Leon used his to lightly hit the beginning portion of her sword.

"The top third of the blade is called the foible," he lowly said, "and it is the weakest part in terms of leverage. Speed," he hit her foil again and as a natural reaction, she smacked his foil in return, which caused a small smile to appear on his face, "is the purpose of using the foible."

"_Coulé_," he nearly purred as his thin blade ran down hers, "also called graze, is the sliding attack or feint along another's blade."

"The purpose of this is to gain leverage from forte," he hit the bottom portion of her blade near the pommel, "against foible," the top part of his blade hit the forte of her blade.

"Or forte," his blade slid to touch her blade with the forte of his, making him step into her personal space, "against forte."

Her cheeks were tinted and her lips were parted a little. He reveled in her reaction to his teasing. Because he was looking at her, he saw the hint of mischief enter her eyes.

"So for forte against forte, could I do this?" She took a bold step into his space, making their legs touch as she put some pressure on his blade with hers.

"You could," he mused aloud, "though in a match, you would be making a prohibited move, _Corps-à-corps_."

"And what's that?"

His head inclined close to hers. "The illegal action of bodies touching," he slowly drawled.

She shivered then, as his hand pushed her blade down in order to reveal her face to him. "But you do it all the time," she breathed out, his eyes swirling with emotions.

The corner of his mouth tilted up. "My mistake."

His face came to hers, their foreheads lightly resting on one another.

"You're still touching me," she murmured.

He nipped a curve of her upper lip. "Are you going to stop me?"

She grinned at him, tilting her face upwards, but did not verbally respond to him. Her lips kissed his upper lip, lightly pulling on it with her mouth. He shuddered a breath out as she licked it with the tip of her tongue, the playful little motion making his mouth feel hyper sensitive.

He moved his head more downwards, letting her continue to tease his upper lip while her plump lower one was left to the mercy of his teeth and tongue.

She half whimpered then, as he slowly drew her lip into his mouth.

The loud banging of the practice door alerted them of a visitor before the door opened and Sarah came into the room.

Sora blushed and ducked her head away from Leon.

Leon silently mourned the loss of her lips.

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AN: Corps a corps also includes the touching of hilts/pommels, but I left it at bodies in order to keep the mood. ;P

Thanks for the reviews! I will post when possible! I usually have more time on the weekends, but not always.


	26. Chapter 26

AN: Here's a long chapter to make up for the wait!

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Sora nervously smoothed her black pencil skirt over as she sat on the Boss's couch. Leon was next to her with his arm along the back of the couch and the picture of cool calmness. She spied his pose from the corner of her eye as the interviewer took a sip from his cup.

_How does he do it?_

She can't get the hang of private interviews. The informal ones she had an easier time speaking freely and with confidence, but when she had to dress up and speak eloquently…

Since they've been partners, she often left the hard questions for Leon to answer. She's all over questions about the stage or anything about the show itself; however, she was tightlipped when it came to them wanting her to critique some new acrobat's performance or anything "political" within the circus and performing world.

_As long as he's a cool cucumber, I'll be the locked up box._

The interviewer leaned over and turned the recorder on. "So what's the newest production coming?"

Sora leaned forward, Leon leaned back.

"Our scriptwriter, Mia Guillem, has come up with an adventure based off of the world of _Zorro_."

The man noted something down with a smile. "Well now, a swashbuckling show! I like that." He looked up at her and said, "I recall, some years back, that you and Layla Hamilton had co-starred in _Arabian Nights. _I applaud your performance; I've rarely seen a new performer maneuver on a moving tightrope as energetically as you did."

Sora laughed it off. "We had put a lot of hours into training for that." She looked over at Leon to see if he wanted to say something and then over back at the interviewer when Leon stayed quiet, "As we do for all of our shows."

"Of course," he nodded, "with that said, is there any special training either of you are undertaking for this production?"

"Fencing lessons," Leon said. "The whole cast is learning the basics, however, the leading characters and villain have more in depth training for phenomenal fight scenes."

The interviewer grinned. "I'll be looking forward to that." Then, his eyes drifted over to look at Sora's hands folded on her lap. "If you don't mind me asking, there have been numerous postings and comments on the Kaleido Stage fan sites regarding a rumor…" He cleared his throat and then continued, "Is there an engagement between you two, the leads of the stage?"

Sora's hand twitched.

After talking with Kalos last week, they told him that he could allow the interviewer a question or two regarding their engagement. Before private interviews occur, the interviewers were required to submit a copy of their questions to Kalos.

In the past, some interviews simply were out to dig up some dirt on the stage and performers in the guise of a professional Q and A. Kalos didn't want to waste time with those kinds of interviews. However, after seeing some of the fan mail, Sora felt that it needed to be addressed publically in order to finally get the rumors to settle down somewhat—though, the official news will cause a stir, but then things could even out faster than them keeping it quite.

_Such is the life of public figures._

She generally didn't mind the fans, but sometimes she didn't understand the hype over wanting to know every aspect of their lives.

She swallowed and shifted her hands so the left sat on top of the right. "Yes, we are."

"Oh," he said and then he straightened his papers on his lap, "So, when's the big day?"

Her cheeks tinted a little and she turned to Leon for that. _We technically don't have a date set yet…_They had an idea of when, but not the actual day. _I don't think it will sound very good if I just shrug and say, 'We don't know.'_

She was sure Leon wouldn't care if she did say that, but going off of May's reaction when she had told her that, it probably didn't sound very certain of an engagement if the couple did not have an idea of when their nuptials would be.

This, then, was a question left for Mr. Cool Cucumber.

She sat back and he leaned forward a little.

"Given the new production coming and the training, the date is difficult to pin down at the moment," Leon smoothly stated, "However, with our preparations underway, it will most likely be in the late winter or early spring."

The man blinked at that response. It was already late November.

_In a bit of a hurry, are we? _His eye slid over to Sora as Leon's hand stroked her shoulder.

_Lucky dog…_

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After the interview was over, Sora sighed and sprawled herself on her dorm couch.

"That was exhausting!" She lightly bemoaned as she carelessly kicked her heels off of her feet.

Her fiancée came over as he amusedly watched her freed toes wiggling in the air. He lifted her legs up, quirking a brow at the bright blue painted on her toenails and then sat down on the couch, her legs now across his lap.

"Don't get too comfortable," he started as he felt the smoothness of her calves, "we have several places to go today."

She lifted her arm from over her eyes. "Oo, did you call the bakery back with our cake option?"

"Yes." Withholding a smirk, he asked, "the second choice, correct?"

She sat up at that. "Please tell me you're joking." When she saw him slowly blink at her, she lightly frowned at him. "That was my _least _favorite one. You even said it tasted like they blended a bunch of sugar cubes and made the cake out of that!" She tugged at his sleeve. "You need to call them again before they have us set for that one!"

He let out a small smile at her fretting. Upon seeing it, she grabbed a couch pillow and hit him with it.

"Oh, you trickster!" She got in another hit as she pouted. "I should have known!"

He chuckled as he easily grabbed the pillow from her hands, tossed it away from the couch and then pounced on her. She eeped as he grabbed her hands in a firm, but gentle hold and began tickling her neck with his nose. She giggled as she squirmed beneath him, only trying to free her hands once before she simply threaded their fingers and faced his attacks.

"You told them option four?" she asked as his tickling changed into love bites.

He lightly sucked along her pulse, receiving a mewl in response for the action. He hummed against her neck, placing a kiss over the area he just attacked.

"Yes."

"With the drop icing that looks like—"

"Lacing," he finished, "Three tiered with three different flavors on each level." He kissed her lips, tasting a new chapstick flavor. _Some sort of berry, if I'm not mistaken_. "You come in all sorts of flavors," he teasingly murmured, "I'd rather have you."

She flushed a little.

"With some dark chocolate and whipped cream," he teased as he placed short kisses on her lips, "I think you will make a very tasty cake."

Her face was burning at his implication. _He's getting bolder as the days go by._ She was finding it harder to come up with a comeback. He nipped her lip and then sat up.

"We need to see the florist."

She blinked at the change but took his proffered hand. "We really don't need that many flowers; it's just close friends and family."

"No," he agreed, "but it's necessary for the hall and, of course, your bouquet."

"Don't forget the flower for your tux," she added.

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	27. Chapter 27

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Sora's nose scrunched up as she looked at the swatches.

_The lilac's nice, but so is the soft, pale blue._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the hand twirling a lock of her hair.

"You can help," she wiry said as his fingers went up her neck, "instead of distracting me."

She felt little thrills as he moved her hair aside and placed light kisses along her throat. In their practices, she was calling him out on the illegal 'corps-a-corps' move more often. _Not that that stops him._ He just gets sneakier with the touches during their matches.

"You seem to be doing fine," he murmured.

She shivered as his lips moved against her skin.

His hands lightly brushed her sides, making her release a shaky breath. He loved how responsive she was to his touch. It made him want to cause more. His hands moved along her stomach, pressing her back to his chest. His eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of holding her without it being a part of a scene.

With the way practice was going, the show was due in the early summer.

_A spring wedding seems doable. _

He'd rather not get married during the performing season where the schedule was not flexible with the hours since they were preplanned. Then, there was the possibility of added show times if the performance was popular. It would be the next winter at the earliest. He didn't know about Sora, but he wasn't keen on the idea of getting married after the shows.

Her hands went over his. His eyes stared at their left hands, seeing their engagement rings. Her thumb rubbed over the smooth silver band on his finger as she thought.

"Are we going too fast?" she voiced out.

"Do you feel that we are?"

"…No," she mused, "You've been at the stage for almost four years." Her face tilted up to his. "During that time, we've been learning about each other even if we weren't partners in the beginning."

"Or regularly spoke to one another," he teased.

She attempted to nip his nose. "A certain someone was being a grouch."

"May?"

"You, Mr. Lone Wolf!" she laughed as his fingers tickled her sides. "It took forever to get you to come to the cast parties!"

He would come to the mandatory VIP meet and greets, but for any little cast hosted get-togethers he had declined the invites. After one decline too many, May had enough of his avoidance and delegated herself along with Sora to be the ones to invite him before he left for his place.

He remembered the first time they approached him in his dressing room. May had been in her no-nonsense-mood with her hands on her hips and Sora had been a little shy to be there…

"Why did you finally come?" he heard Sora ask.

He released her, allowing her to turn around and talk to him face to face. He didn't need the time to think about why; he recalled it readily enough especially since he had been thinking about it.

May had been pushing for him to come, saying that he was a scaredy-cat or some nonsense like that. The back of his fingers brushed the side of Sora's face as he remembered being pleasantly surprised upon seeing the flower in her hair. Her gaze had been on his shoulder as May talked, but sometime during it she had ventured to look up.

_"Will you come for a little bit?" she asked while a hand shyly twirled a lock of her hair. "You don't have to stay the whole time."_

She did not know that he was secretly infatuated with her; he had not known that she had developed a crush on him during their time as partners.

His forehead rested on hers. "I came because _you_ asked."

Brown eyes blinked and her cheeks colored as the revelation sunk in. _Well, that would explain why he started coming more often._ She wondered if that was why May made her the official inviter for Leon after that time. _May must have caught on before I did._

Her cheeks reddened even more."Did I frustrate you a lot?"

He arched a brow. "In regards to what?"

Her hands fiddled with his hair. "Just in general the whole…" she floundered for words, "getting my attention in the manner you wanted."

"What manner was that?"

"You know," her eyes averted from his when she saw them lidded, "…romantically."

"Define romantically."

Her gaze came back up to see the half smirk on his lips. She glared at him which made him chuckle. "You enjoy my embarrassment too much!"

"Your flustered state," he corrected with a purr.

She pouted. "For that, I'm choosing pink, which means your tie has to be the same color in order to go with the theme!"

He arched a brow at the declaration. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she crossed her arms decidedly.

SL

Five minutes later, she found herself against the wall of his living room.

Her hands were tangled in his hair as she mewled, the sound hard to hear as his mouth stayed over hers, coaxing her to fall under the power of his kiss. Her eyes were fluttering closed as she loosened her lips for him.

He broke the kiss suddenly, making her let out a soft gasp.

He stayed close as they caught their breaths.

"You'll look stupid in pink," she breathed out. Honestly, she had already voted against that color but she had been curious what he would do if she was insistent on it.

"I can pull off anything," he rumbled out.

"Cocky," she quipped.

He gripped her chin, tilting her head up for him to capture her bottom lip. "Pixie."

She gave him an impish smile; he leaned down and returned to kissing her senseless.

SL

SL

SL

AN: I haven't updated this one in a while. Sorry about that! I would like to try to get _Insidious _finished so I can focus on this story more. Plus getting around to finish _Movement._

Note to _Tangled Magic _readers: The poll results are in. There will be a one shot. :) I just don't know when at the moment... XP


	28. Chapter 28

AN: Thanks for the reviews and faves! :D

SL

SL

SL

December came and so did her birthday.

Her friends wanted to take her out since it was her twenty first birthday and she invited Leon to come. He, as well as Ken, separately declined on the invites.

"Go with your friends," Leon murmured, his hand stroking her face, "we'll do something together some other time."

She had thought it was sweet that he'd give her time to hang out with her friends, but with Ken's refusal to come as well, she wondered why the males were declining to come.

_How weird._

SL

Taking two cars with Anna and Sarah being the drivers, the girls arrived at the place for their reserved room.

Sora sat with her friends flanking both sides.

Rosetta and Marion weren't able to come since it was a 21 and older place, but she promised them that they'd do something later that they could all partake in.

"Alright," May grinned as she looked over the drinks list, "I'm buying you a shot."

"Food first, May," Mia admonished.

Anna stood up and started fiddling with the karaoke machine. "I'll set this up for later so we can just use it without any difficulties."

Sarah placed a plastic silver tiara on Sora's head. "We can't forget this, now can we!"

Sora smiled. _This will be a great party._

SL

Halfway through the food, Mia finally allowed for drinks.

"Who ordered the shot?" their server, Jenny, asked.

May pointed over at Sora. "Her highness over there gets it, but it's on my check."

Sora blinked at the small glass and the slice of lemon that sat on the plate. _That's pretty small._ She guessed May wanted to start her off on something simple.

Jenny gave Anna a refill on her soda and replaced Sarah's slushy with a mint and chip shake.

"Why is there a lemon with my drink?"

May paused in taking a sip of her martini. "You down the drink and then take a bite of the lemon." At Sora's skeptical look, May huffed. "It's good, just trust me."

"It's a favorite of a lot of first time drinkers," Jenny added.

After hearing that testimony from Jenny, Sora lifted up the glass. In the corner of her eye, she saw Mia getting her camera up and pointed at her. "Here goes…" With that, she tipped the drink down and then quickly bit the lemon.

Sora's eyes widened in delight. _It tastes like chocolate cake!_

Mia's camera went off with the lemon still in Sora's mouth. Mia giggled as she checked the picture. "You've got a lemon smile!"

"Did you like it?" Jenny inquired.

Sora slipped the lemon out of her mouth. "It's good! How did anyone figure this combo out?"

Laughter sounded around her.

"Alcohol's a mystery," May smirked.

SL

Later in the night, as Sora ordered a Gummi Bear shot and May got her a strawberry daiquiri, she was feeling pretty warm.

She shrugged her sweater off and borrowed a hair tie.

Anna called out if someone wanted to sing a song.

Sora let loose a goofy grin and got up. She quickly sat back down as she wobbled on her feet. _What's up with my head?!_ It felt fuzzy, for the lack of a better word.

"Aw sit down, ya lightweight," May chortled with a lazy wave of her hand. "We don't need ya breakin' somethin' cause ya can't walk!"

Sarah giggled as she got up to do karaoke.

"Why's my head wuzzy?" Sora blinked and then corrected herself, "Fuzzy." She put a hand against her forehead. "I only had two lil drinks," her other hand lifted two fingers up, "and then this drink." She frowned as she added her fingers. "That's like having two, not three, right?"

Mia snorted into her apple-tini. "Oh you," she made to push Sora's shoulder but missed, "Size doesn't matter if it's a mixed drink!" She took a moment to giggle and then she halted suddenly. "Shots are mixed drinks," she clarified with a sober face.

Mia's serious face disappeared as May laughed.

"Ya say size don't matter?" May slapped the table. "That sooo sounded like somethin' else!"

"May!" Mia said in an affronted tone which lasted only for one second. "You naughty, naughty girl!" She wagged a finger in reprimand but the snorted laugh ruined the effect. "Sora doesn't need to hear that from you!"

Anna had been coming over from the karaoke machine to get her drink when she caught their discussion. She shook her head at them.

"What's so naughty about size?" Sora asked.

Mia and May looked at her; they looked at each other and then started to laugh loudly.

"Hah! Oh my—my side!" Mia cried.

May got her laughter under control. With a devious grin, she leaned over the table towards Sora. "Ya wanna know the joke? Ya probably need to pretty soon or are gonna find out, given the whole weddin' thin' comin,'" she snickered. "It's –"

Anna covered Sora's ears, but the action wasn't needed.

Sarah chose her song and was belting out "Dancing Queen" with some very wild tosses of her hair. "This is for ya highness!" she added randomly in the middle of the song with a dramatic pointing at Sora. "I love ya darlin'!"

_Alcohol's weird, _Sora numbly decided.

She absentmindedly nodded her head in agreement with herself. Anna had finally uncovered her ears with the end of May's explanation.

"What are you nodding about?" Anna asked.

Sora's head stopped. Her brows furrowed as she tried to recall.

"I don't remember."

SL

Leon drove to the address Anna had given him over the phone.

As he pulled into the parking lot of the place they had decided to celebrate, he shook his head upon recalling the start of the phone call from his fiancée telling him that she had been made a royal, but not to worry she'd still marry him.

While it had been amusing to hear her reassurances for something that wasn't an actual issue, he was glad that her sober friend Anna snatched the phone from her in order to tell him that he needed to come.

Leon stepped out of the car, seeing Sora leaning against Anna's car as Anna approached Leon.

"Sorry about this," Anna said with a rub to the back of her head. "Sarah accidently ordered drinks from the alcoholic side of the menu and we need two drivers. The back of my car really only has space for two. Anymore and it's pretty uncomfortable."

Leon peered through the front car window. The girls were slumped against each other while Sarah rocked her head back and forth in the passenger seat to some tune in her head.

He shook his head. "Understandable."

"Sora," Anna called over her shoulder, "your carriage is here."

SL

He helped her get out of the car. She stumbled into him, making her tiara askew.

"Ya pretty great," she murmured with a light pat of her hand on his cheek. "I'll try to make ya a knight or somethin'."

"Uh huh," he idly said not for the first time that night, "wrap your arm around my neck."

She sluggishly did as she was told. "Ya know," she paused momentarily as his arm hooked behind her knees and lifted her up to carry her, "not enough people know that about ya, ya know what I mean?"

He closed the passenger door with his foot. She continued to talk as he walked them out of the parking lot.

"…four years now or somethin'. People are crazy. Ya cook some good food and they'll be swarmin' ya, just wait and see…"

It wasn't until they were in the dorm elevators that she commented on him carrying her.

"M' legs are good," she said, "ya put me down. It's ok."

"I'd rather just take you the rest of the way. We're almost there, highness," came his wiry response.

The elevator dinged and he stepped out, not noticing her pensive stare. He had gotten her key from her handbag earlier so when he stopped in front of it, he put Sora down on her feet and unlocked the door.

She was leaning against the wall when she declared, "I'd give up my crown if it meant being with ya."

His eyes set on her as he paused in helping her inside.

"I love you," she said, her voice completely clear for the first time since he had picked her up. "You know that, right?"

He fixed her tiara and then kissed her on the cheek.

"I know," he quietly replied.

SL

Her senses were off when she woke up the next day.

She groaned and tried to roll over, but something was taking up a lot of room on the mattress. Blindly, her hand felt to the side of her and her eyes shot open upon feeling a solid mass next to her.

Her head turned and saw Leon in a sleeping bag.

"What the…"

Calmly, Leon replied without opening his eyes. "You asked for a royal sleepover," he drawled, "but when I tried putting the sleeping bag on the ground, you got upset, saying something along the lines that I'd be sleeping with the floor instead of with you."

Naïve about a lot of things, even Sora knew what her slip of the tongue must have sounded like to Leon last night. She groaned again, but this time in embarrassment.

"Alcohol's really weird!" she bemoaned.

"You have a low tolerance, I would say," he dryly assessed.

SL

SL

SL

AN: This one is a funny chapter that still fits with the story. :P

In case I haven't posted it here, I've created a Kaleido Star forum called "KS Think Tank!" with the purpose of getting people to look and bat around story ideas for the fandom. :)


	29. Chapter 29

AN: I'm glad other people thought drunk/buzzed Sora would be funny to read. XD

SL

SL

SL

Their winter break was allowed after the New Year.

The New Year's Eve show was a mixture of many special maneuvers and tricks. A variation of May's Demon Spiral was incorporated with Leon catching her and then tossing May over to Rosetta. Both then did a routine they had been tinkering with in their spare time, involving quick spins with the diabolos while on a tightrope.

Anna and her team were given a slot for a gag performance and Marion featured on the trampoline along with some other rising trampoline performers.

The show ended with a silk act between Leon and Sora. While more subdued in action, the twisting and smooth motions made for a heartfelt performance. Sora's face had been a little flushed during some of the movements, especially when he was wrapped in the silk with her.

After finding Leon sleeping on her bed, she was quick to blush when they were in contact with each other. Granted, things could have been even more awkward if he had been under the covers with her instead of in a sleeping bag, but still…

The voice of the plane's pilot sounded over the speakers.

She snapped out of it, re-buckling her seatbelt.

Leon looked over at her and did the same, not knowing what the pilot had said. Soon, though, the pilot repeated his earlier statement in English.

"We will be descending shortly. Please refasten your seatbelts…"

SL

Leon looked around his fiancée's home country with veiled curiosity.

Sora was in the process of paying the cab, so he took the time to take in his surroundings. A few people passed him by, his tall frame and long silver hair catching their eyes. He was not perturbed by it, having realized that his features stood out like a beacon in most crowds.

Some teens were exiting the apartment complex that he had been taking in. He slowly blinked as a few excitedly spoke to one another and then approached him. By the inflection, he could tell he was being asked a question, but for the life of him he didn't know what about.

Luckily, Sora came up to stand beside him.

SL

Sora grinned at the look he was giving her.

The lost look was nearly enough to make her laugh, but she refrained. After all, she knew what it was like to be in another country and not know a word of the language.

_And yet I'm engaged to a Frenchman. _

In all her life before meeting him, she couldn't say that she had considered that occurring. She had realized that, by moving to America she'd encounter other races, but she hadn't really thought about actually getting married outside of her ethnicity or to someone that wasn't American.

Not that she was regretting her decision. It was just something she had not thought about in depth.

"They're asking if they can take a picture with you."

By the arch of his brow, she got his confusion.

"I don't know why. Let me ask."

SL

He watched Sora's facial expressions change as she spoke to the young teens.

She looked at his face and her eyes traveled his form. In any other situation, he'd preen at the attention, however, not knowing the context of the conversation made him very curious.

Then, she let out peals of laughter.

Now he really was confused.

SL

Sora continued to giggle as she led him up the staircase to her old home.

"Sephiroth," she snickered with a shake of her head.

"Are you going to explain the reference?" he dryly intoned.

"I told you," she said with underlining laughter in her voice, "he's a character from a video game series. I'll have to show you a picture in order for you to really get it."

He sighed. She giggled again.

SL

When the front door of the Naegino apartment opened, there was a flurry of excited words and hugging between the older woman and Sora. He heard his name in the middle of the Japanese and then the attention was on him.

"Welcome, Oswald-san."

He inclined his head, recalling what Sora said about formalities.

The older woman smiled and then stepped aside, allowing the couple inside. "My husband is in the living room. Sora-chan," his fiancée turned back to her aunt before she could go to her uncle on the couch with Yume.

The aunt said a few words in Japanese and Sora chirruped something back, heading to her old room—now Yume's—in order to put her luggage down.

Leon, now fully inside and closing the door behind him, had been looking at the interior when her aunt addressed him again.

"Oswald-san, we only have two room, so we thought that you can share a room with my husband." She gave a little bow of her head. "I apologize for the lack of accommodations, but we did not think you would like to sleep in the living room. However, you are allowed that option should you feel more comfortable with that."

"Do not worry, Oswald-san," came a new voice. Leon turned to face the head of the house with a toddler clinging onto a pant leg as he walked. "We are not easily offended. Take whichever you are comfortable with."

Leon considered the options and the duration of their stay.

"The living room is fine," he said with a returned bow.

SL

Dinner was an interesting affair.

Yume sat next to her mother and then Sora on the other side on a booster chair. Leon was across from Sora's father as they ate. The seafood was delicious and Leon had commented so, earning a shy laugh from the mother as she brushed it off good humoredly.

There wasn't much talking done, except for Yume's fragmented sentences every now and then.

Leon felt out of place.

He couldn't recall the last time he was a part of a family dinner. From his memories, there was a faint recollection of a meal with his family, but it was largely overshadowed by his time spent with the relatives. They had been reluctant to take Sophie and him in, so there was not the same bonding experience that occurred with Sora and her relatives.

His eyes slid over to Sora and her mother as the older woman smiled. Sora caught her mother looking at her, asked something to which her mother replied with the extension of her hand towards Sora.

He was amused to see her cheeks dust with some red.

Sora brought her left hand over to her mother and the older woman fawned over the engagement ring, a big smile on her face as well as a bit of nostalgia in her eyes.

Leon did not see any more for Sora's father addressed him.

SL

Atsushi would not consider himself a strict man.

He was still learning how to be a father and he knew that he probably made some mistakes along the way. Between Midori and himself, they did the best they could and he was proud to call Sora his daughter.

However, when it came to some of the decisions his daughter made he was worried about her.

It wasn't that he didn't trust _her_ but more that he didn't trust the _environment_ that she was placing herself in. An excellent example would be Sora's decision to be an acrobat in America.

That one had him worrying himself to exhaustion.

He supposed it was the fear of losing her in a foreign land that had him questioning her decision. He had gone to America twice to convince her to come back, the second time with a heavily pregnant Midori. The second trip was, perhaps, rather reckless considering the state his wife had been in. However, he couldn't dissuade her to stay. Sora was her daughter, after all.

She had every right to be just as worried about Sora as he was.

Right now though, he had the feeling that he was more worried about her engagement than Midori, especially with her prompting Sora to tell her about the preparations for the wedding thus far.

He guessed that Midori was more comfortable with it because she had longer talks with Sora.

"Sora-chan told us you are from France, is that correct?"

Leon nodded politely. "I am."

Atsushi nodded as well, trying to find the wording for the questions that needed to be addressed. "Do you plan on returning there in the future?"

Sora had turned her head earlier but Atsushi ignored her staring. Though, he did noticed that she had opened her mouth to say something, but Midori had called her attention with a squeeze of her hand and discretely shook her head at Sora, silently telling her to let her father ask what he wanted to.

"Perhaps visiting, but not as a permanent living residence," Leon said before taking a sip of his cup.

"If your engagement holds and the wedding takes place, where will you two live? Would you move to France if Sora-chan wanted to?" Atsushi folded his hands on the table. "I admit to being curious to your certainty of not returning to your home country. From what I can tell, you two are internationally famous. Surely it would be better for you to live there where it is easier to travel to multiple countries than in America."

He could see that Leon was mulling over the facets of his question and statement. It was good that the man appeared to not answer too readily when it truly counted.

Though, whether the answer would be fruitful was another thing entirely.

"I do not think Sora would want to live in France."

That statement caught Atsushi attention. "Why do you think so?"

Leon leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. Atsushi was on guard with the position, but waited to hear his answer. He caught the faintest impression of a smile on the Frenchman's face; he wondered what Leon thought was humorous.

"She has trouble with the language," Leon smoothly intoned.

That brought a laugh from Midori, an indignant exclamation from Sora and an amused shake of Atsushi's head.

Yume continued to gnaw on a hand roll.

SL

Her parents went to bed, taking Yume with them.

Sora went to the living room where Leon was unfolding the spare futon. She crouched over him and wrapped her arms around him, causing him to pause in his task.

"Hey you charmer."

He looked at her ducky pajamas and softly scoffed. "Hardly."

"You're doing well," she said with a bump of their noses. "Dad's just a bit of a worrier, especially after I decided to move to America. Don't take it personally."

He straightened up from his crouch and sat back on his knees, Sora's form moving along with him. "So you're the one to blame for my trials," he dryly stated.

She nipped his nose. "The questioning isn't over yet; you still have mom."

"I think some compensation is in order, then," he murmured low enough for only her to hear. With a wicked smirk he added, "Another royal sleepover, perhaps? I'll be sure to not sleep with the floor."

Her face grew red. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Never," he promised, stealing a kiss from her.

She had wanted to scold him for his teasing, but she was quick to decide that she wanted a kiss instead. Her hands cupped his face and he slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss and making her eyes half close. His hands had slipped under her pajama top to feel her skin; she mewled as his warm fingers sent shivers along her body.

Her hands soon grasped his, stopping his exploration of her lower back and stomach. "Don't do that around Dad," she murmured against his lips, "he won't hesitate to kick you out, fiancée or not."

"Then don't tempt me," he said before brushing the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip.

"I didn't start it," she breathed out.

"Your reactions goad me," he rumbled.

Her hands returned around his face as she gave him a long kiss. He exhaled through his nose, nearly pulling her head back when she broke off the kiss, but he didn't feel like pushing the boundaries of her father's hospitality should the man happen to come out for something and see Leon's hands touching the skin of his daughter's back.

"Good night," she said, her thumbs rubbing his jawline.

"Good night."

She smiled and then went back to Yume's room.

SL

SL

SL

AN: Oh meeting the parents-and Yume. If you're havin' a wedding, it would probably be nice to get a feel of the family you're entering into. :P

It's here, Mynameiseverchanging. Though, you beat me to it! :P


	30. Chapter 30

AN: This story is still going, along with _Movement_, _Insidious, and Hidden Colors_. I'm not sure how frequently these stories will be updated given the projects I have to do, but I have not abandoned any of them. Some days I can get in a few chapters, others I do not have time. :/

Thanks for reading!

SL

SL

SL

The crisp January air had Leon putting on his scarf along with his coat. Sora's father did the same and then they left the apartment together, with Atsushi walking slightly ahead of Leon.

For the past four mornings, Leon joined the older man in his walk to the train station.

While the couple had vacation, Atsushi had work to go to. Most of the walk was silent, though, her father would talk or ask something of Leon and he would respond back.

The initial hesitance from Atsushi seemed to have dwindled considerably.

Leon was glad of it, not wanting to be at odds with her family members especially with the head of the family. He and Sora have been visiting for almost a week now. A few days included a short tour of Sora's old school and a few of her old hang outs. One stop had been to Manami's hair salon and upon seeing Leon's hair the young woman had been eager to do something with it.

Sora had intervened with a nervous laugh.

The tours and getting to know the Naegino family were nice, but there were things to be done before Leon returned to the apartment.

Before arriving in Japan, Sora and Leon had discussed the matter of the actual wedding ceremony. Technically, they only had to fill out some paperwork and have a few people there as witnesses, but there were some traditions from both of their cultures that they had decided on having.

Though from Leon's side, it had not mattered to him if they went more with her culture's traditions, however, his bride to be thought it would be nice to have at least a few from his side.

And so, they were going to have a French-Japanese wedding.

He still wasn't so certain how it was going to come out, but as long as she was happy with it he didn't see any problems with it. Before Sora left with her mother and Yume, she told Leon that while she was getting something for the wedding with her mother, he could ask her father for some advice on blending their customs.

Leon had asked and was now waiting for a response.

"In traditional Japanese weddings," Atsushi started, having been silent as he thought about Leon's request, "many of the things done are based in the Shinto belief or an old tradition of the samurai." With a half-smile the older man added, "But nowadays there are several aspects that are incorporated without needing to be Shinto or Japanese."

Leon took that information in, not quite sure if her father said that with nostalgia or acceptance. Instead of reiterating his question Leon waited for the rest of the answer. He noticed that the older man liked to take his time with his answers so there was no need to rush him.

"The _San-san-kudo,_" Atsushi finally decided on, "the symbolism of that custom would be very meaningful." The man's brown eye looked at Leon momentarily. "I can explain it better when I return."

Leon nodded his thanks.

Atsushi smiled and nodded back. He was getting used to the fact that Leon was not much of a talker. He thought it was humorous, knowing how Sora is, that such a silent man was drawn to her and she was drawn to him. _It will be interesting to see how he deals with my daughter_. Sora was very much the social butterfly.

He chuckled softly under his breath.

SL

While Leon was with her father doing some more 'male bonding,' Sora and Yume went out with their mother. The toddler had grabbed both of their hands as they walked towards the nearest shrine.

Sora had expressed doing a _hatsumode_ even though it was no longer the first week of the New Year. Because of the huge celebrations of New Year in Japan, she and Leon had not been able to book a flight until after most of the New Year's festivities.

_It's too bad Leon wasn't able to see them_, she wistfully thought.

Maybe some other year…

"Sora-chan," her mother asked as she kept an eye on Yume as they went up the stairs of the shrine, "You said that there was something you wanted to do after this visit. Where do you want to go without Leon-san?"

Sora smiled at the use of his first name. _I'm sure him helping with dinner that one night won her over._ And he said he wasn't charming. _Soon enough, there'd be a –kun at the end of his name, maybe even –chan. _

Her smile widened at the thought of him being called 'Leon-chan.'

_Probably not._

She managed to cover over her laugh with a clearing of her throat. With her answer to her mother's question in her mind, her humor abated.

When she first came to the United States for the tryouts a little over five years ago, she had a visa and then a work permit once she was on contract with the Kaleido Stage. After all, it didn't make sense for her to file for citizenship if she wasn't sure she'd continue living there. While the United States allowed for dual citizenship, Japan didn't.

She didn't want to be hasty in forfeiting her rights as a Japanese national.

After her second return to the stage, she had decided that she was going to stay in the United States. It was a decision done in affirmation and her resolve to create her dream stage in Cape Mary. There would be no turning back and she was determined to succeed so there would be no regrets. She had called her parents to let them know of her decision, not wanting them to feel that she was abandoning her heritage but to have them understand how strongly she felt about her dream.

Leon didn't have that problem; France allowed for a dual citizenship. Though, knowing that he wasn't very attached to his home country-stemming from the tragedy and harsh experiences he went through while living in France-she doubted it would have been an issue for him to drop his French citizenship.

For her though, it hadn't been a light matter.

Now, she visited her home country as a guest. It made her sad sometimes, but she knew that it was just a matter of paperwork.

"I've been thinking about my wedding gown," Sora started with a small smile, "and I think I'd like to have a bridal _kimono_ for the ceremony."

Those words filled Midori with joy and the motherly pangs of seeing her child grown up. With fondness, she recalled the times when Sora would sneak into her closet and alternate between putting on her festival _yukata_ and one of her _kimono_.

Back then, it had been dressing up.

Now it was a necessity.

Midori put a hand along Sora's cheek. "We'll have to find you a nice one."

SL

The females met Leon back at the apartment.

Midori greeted him as he opened the door for them and Yume's head slowly looked up at him and then followed her mother inside. He noted that the toddler tended to do that. M_y height might be strange to her_. His presence in general, if he thought about it more.

He inwardly shrugged.

Sora pecked him on the cheek. "_Ohayou,_" she started but then she paused for a few seconds, her eyes glinting as she added with some mirth, "Leon-chan."

He recognized the greeting '_Ohayou_,' but the last part…

"Leon-chan?"

He quirked a brow when his fiancée giggled instead of explaining the addition of –chan to his name. He heard her parents call her –chan, but –san was the only suffix that was added to his name. _A pet name, is it? _The corner of his mouth twitched in the beginnings of a smirk.

Two can play that game.

He stepped out into the hallway and quietly closed the door. Sora's giggles cut off as he walked into her personal space.

"_Bonjour_," he murmured, and then he leaned incredibly close making sure to purr out the last part, "_ma bichette._"

Her brown eyes widened and her cheeks were red as his fingers grazed the side of her face. _He could be calling me a fat cow and I wouldn't know_. French was her weakness in so many ways…

"I'm going to look up what you just said."

He gave her a languid smile. "Please do."

Her lips pursed and she turned the handle of the front door. Leon followed her inside, finally noticing the rather bulky shopping bag in her hand. _Come to think of it, her mother had a bag as well._

"What did you buy?"

Sora bent over to pick up the bag her mother left on the couch and continued to Yume's room—her temporary room during their stay there.

"It's a surprise," she sang out, "so no peeking!"

He nearly rolled his eyes. If anyone had a problem with peeking, it was her.

Leon heard her mother call out from the kitchen. Sora backtracked to hear the Japanese words. She blinked a few times, but then said, "_Hai._"

He knew that word by now. "You agreed to show me the purchase."

"No Mr. Nosy," she teased and then stuck out her tongue at him, "not everything's about you."

Her mother laughed upon hearing that. _If she only knew what else I bought her, she wouldn't have said that. _Mother she may be, but she was a bride once.

Midori secretly smiled as she cut up the vegetables for lunch.

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Sora closed her room door and put the bags on the bed.

_"Don't open the white box until your bridal shower," Midori said._

She was pulling out the white box, noting how light it felt, taking in the fact that it was as long as her arm, but not that wide. _What's in here?_ It had to be something from the department store. That was the only place they went.

A bit of giddiness filled her.

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Leon was watching over Yume in the living room when Midori called out to him.

"Leon-san, would you retrieve Sora-chan before she peeks at her gift?"

He didn't question the request.

Midori hummed as she heard his steps across the room. A door opened and she could hear her daughter squeak. She shook her head as Sora's guilty voice tried covering up what she was doing.

Suddenly, the young woman "oomphed" and Leon's steps returned. Curious to what had happened Midori turned her head towards the kitchen opening.

She looked in time to see Sora hanging over Leon's shoulder.

"There was too much wrapping paper to see," Sora grouched.

They walked out of Midori's view as they continued to the living room, but she could hear the soft scoff of Leon. Soon, Yume let out shrill laughter probably caused by seeing her sister being carried over in that manner.

"_Arigato, _Leon-san!" Midori said.

There was silence for a few moments and then, "_Dou itashimashite."_

Midori blinked. _He's catching on pretty fast._ Granted, it had not been said smoothly and his pronunciation needed some work, but all things considered, it was not bad at all.

Her grandkids were going to be incredible little acrobats with English, French, and Japanese speaking skills. _Oh and then just picture their looks…! _She was grinning as her imagination ran wild.

The future seemed _very_ promising.

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AN: Oh Midori, you just want grandmother boasting rights. XD

I decided to give Sora's uncle/ foster father the name Atsushi because it means "compassionate warrior." It matched with my image of him as a gentle guy, but protective of his family.

Translations (from internet. :P):

_Hatsumode_: the first visiting of a shrine/temple of the New Year in Japan.

_San-san-kudo_: I will be covering some of this later.

_Ohayou: _informal hello. Like "hey."

_Hai: _yes (among other meanings)

_Arigato_: informal thanks

_Dou itashimashite: _You're welcome

_Bonjour:_ Used for hello, good morning, or good afternoon.

_Ma bichette: _My little doe. (pet name :P)


	31. Chapter 31

AN: Short chapter, but I need to wrap up the Japan visit.

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They were still in Japan for a few more days.

Leon was an early riser, but that particular morning, he felt like sleeping in a little longer than usual. He shifted on the futon and was dozing on his back when he heard the light pattering of feet. The sound was towards the bathroom, so he did not think much of it.

He fell back asleep.

The next thing he was aware of was something being placed on his chest. His eyes opened and looked at the strange green and purple toy with its huge eyes staring at him. A pink elephant was placed next to the strange creature.

He now had two animals staring down at him.

"_Mami_," came Yume's young voice.

She sat comfortably next to his prone figure still wearing her purple and yellow pjs and her caramel hair in twin pigtails. He blinked at the toddler's small finger pointing at the green and purple toy. It looked to be a cross between a horse and some sort of insect, given its ridiculously large eyes.

"_Mami,_" she repeated with more emphasis.

"Mami," Leon said.

She nodded very enthusiastically.

"_Aimi._" Her pudgy figure pointed at the pink elephant.

"Eye-mee_._"

"_Aimi_," she repeated, correcting Leon's pronunciation.

"…Aimi."

She squealed in excitement. When she took the toys off of him, he made to sit up, having thought that she just wanted to introduce him to her two toys.

Leon blinked as three other toys were replaced.

He inwardly sighed and leaned his head back on the pillow, patiently waiting for the names of these three toys. _She couldn't possibly have carried more than this._ He looked around the little girl and his eyes widened upon seeing a whole crowd of stuffed animals sitting on the couch.

_How did I not hear her approach?_

"_Chou_" Yume picked up the blue and yellow butterfly and made it flap its wings by moving it up and down. The toy crash landed into the other two on his chest.

"Yume-chan!"

The little girl looked up and saw her mother covering her mouth upon seeing the toys on Leon. The older woman was torn between laughing and gaping at the embarrassing situation her little girl placed their guest in.

"I apologize, Leon-san," Midori said as she grabbed the toys off of him and then grabbed the girl's hand.

"It was nothing," he murmured, picking up the butterfly that had fallen off on his other side. He sat up and held the toy up for Yume to grab. "_Chou_."

Yume nodded with a big grin. "_Chou!_"

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	32. Chapter 32

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Sora hugged her mother and Yume as Leon shook hands with her father.

"Call anytime, Sora-chan and Leon-san."

Leon looked over upon hearing his name. He gave a nod, but then felt a sharp tug of his hair. He looked down to see a lock of his hair in Yume's small fist.

She said 'bye' in Japanese, but he did not understand the other word she said. Whatever it was, it made Sora smile and Midori put a hand over her heart.

He repeated the 'bye.' The girl smiled and then let go of his hair.

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They sat on the plane ride back to America.

Sora had taken off her seat belt and pushed the armrest out of the way so she could lean against Leon. She rested her head on his shoulder as she perused the travel magazine in his hands. _He's been staring at the same page for a while now._ Considering that she knew him to be a fast reader, it was rather strange that he had yet to turn the page.

"What did Yume say to me?"

She smiled. "I was wondering when you'd ask."

He turned to look at her face. Her smile grew.

"She called you 'big brother.'"

Her smile waned a little upon feeling him tense up. Her heart clenched when she realized what the issue was. _Shimatta. Why don't I ever think about these things before saying them? _She wasn't sure if he would want to be called 'big brother' anymore…

"Leon, if you're not comfortable with her calling you that, I can—"

"It's fine," he murmured.

She saw the swallow he did. Leon rarely swallowed hard because of an emotion. _I'm not convinced that it is fine._ But what was she to do, aside getting Yume to not call him that? The hurt had been done and she wasn't certain if she should carry on with the topic.

He closed the magazine and placed it back in the pocket of the seat in front of him. When he leaned back onto his seat, Sora stayed kneeling on the seat next to him.

Her hand rested on the side of his face. "It's ok if you're not comfortable."

He looked up at her sympathetic doe eyes.

Pity often rubbed him the wrong way, especially actions done out of a sterile sense of obligation. That's why he had been so glad to leave his relative's house and stay with Alen despite his harsh training. Physical obstacles are easier to deal with.

Emotional, on the other hand…

He wasn't quite certain he knew how to deal with those yet.

Her sympathy right now seemed different than pity, somehow. It could be because she spoke out of an understanding of himself or because she actually cared what he was going through. Either option prevented any bristling of his ego.

"Perhaps later on, she could," he started quietly, "but right now…"

He swallowed again. _I can't even say it myself._ He wasn't sure how he was going to fit into this new situation. Not for the first time, he felt out of place within her family and they weren't even there presently.

"Of course," she softly spoke.

She settled herself back against him with her arm looped through his and her head back on his shoulder. She brought one of his hands up to her lips and kissed the back of it.

"Take all the time you want."

She felt his fingers twitch in her hand. She threaded their fingers together and placed their hands back down. A few moments later, he rested the side of his face against the top of her head.

He let out a weary sigh. She gave his hand a squeeze.

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AN: I had actually started this out with the idea that it would be cute if Yume called Leon Big Brother. But then as I was typing, I realized that he might not be ready to be called that again, especially since he hadn't expected to be given that title ever again. ; _ ;


	33. Chapter 33

Edit: Ok, I don't know what's up with my document manager not saving the text for my chapters! It gives me the word count but the chapter wasn't there when I looked. :/

Sorry about this not appearing earlier!

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It was a little after 6 in the morning when Leon woke up.

He tiredly rubbed his face.

He hadn't been in the best of moods as of late, but he tried not to let it show during practice or around Sora. There wasn't much to be done about it; he simply resigned himself to waiting it out.

With that, he got out of bed and did his morning routine of showering, brushing his long mane of hair, and then went into the kitchen to turn on his coffeemaker.

Once the machine was on, he left his apartment to pick up the mail.

The elderly couple that lived a few places down were shuffling over to the elevator while he went down the stairwell. The 20 something year old jogger with her short shorts and cut off tank top started going up the stairs when she saw him going down. She backtracked a little to greet him and then asked him if he was sure he didn't want to grab coffee one of these days.

She didn't believe him about being engaged.

Apparently, he just didn't seem the type to be married in his twenties. The statement had him annoyed at her audacity to assume what he was like. Some days he didn't feel like a 24 year old; he experienced and lived through many things that had aged him sooner than he should have been.

But he is as he is.

He was fine with it; Sora was more than accepting of it.

He addressed the jogger's coffee question in a flat tone that he was sure. She lightly frowned but then shook it off as she continued up the steps. He didn't see, but she made sure that her hips swayed and her long ponytail playfully swung in the off chance that he was looking.

He wasn't so he hadn't known what she was doing.

Finally making his way over to the wall with the mail box cubbies, Leon found his and unlocked it. A few envelopes were inside as well as his subscription magazine. He took them out and then locked the cubby.

When he made it back into his apartment he kicked off his shoes and then went into the kitchen to sort out his mail. The magazine was placed down on the table; he flipped through the envelopes.

_Bill, bill…_ Those went on top of the magazine.

_Advertisement…_ That went in a new pile for trashing.

His hand stilled on the last envelope. He frowned at the handwritten address and scoffed upon seeing the sender. _Another letter. _He had a feeling that the contents of the letter will be similar to the last; he was getting irritated with this situation.

The coffeemaker beeped; he went to fix a cup.

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Sora waited for Leon to show in the main stage.

They were finally at the level of fencing where he was comfortable with practicing without the protective gear now. Seeing as during the performance they will be fencing without the gear it was important that she adjusted to fighting without the padding.

While Sora's character Esperanza wasn't an enemy of Zorro, she did have a fight scene against him. Unbeknownst to Esperanza, her brother was a corrupt politician; so when she happens upon Zorro stealing some vital papers from her brother's vault, she engages him in a sword fight.

Later Esperanza learns the truth and fights alongside Zorro but until then…

She has mixed feelings for the Don Diego de la Vega and a sort of infatuation with the masked vigilante called Zorro—though the two men are actually one in the same.

_Mia loves her drama._

Sora just hoped she could pull off Mia's vision.

The doors to the main stage opened. Sora turned to see Leon walking down the aisle.

She smiled and was about to call out a greeting to him when she noticed the sour expression on his face. It was only the slightest downturn of his mouth with his lips pressed in a thinner line than usual, but she was around him often enough to have caught the look before he smoothed his face over.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," came his toneless response.

She blinked at him, wanting to push the subject but she hesitated. It wasn't that long ago when the 'big brother' issue with Yume occurred; she didn't think she should push too many sensitive topics around the same time.

"…They got the tightropes up and the long, swinging platform for us to practice on."

He nodded at the information. Then, he shrugged out of his coat and started to stretch out.

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	34. Chapter 34

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They've been practicing for about three hours now.

Thanks to her past experiences with balancing on moving platforms, Sora was adjusting to the long, moving platform they were fencing on. Though, she still slipped and lost her fencing posture.

Keeping the fencing forms was the difficult part.

Her practice sword connected with Leon's. His eyes seemed to focus more with her action and he put enough pressure in his push to get her to step back a few. She stumbled back with little grace, eliciting a squeak as she tried to find her balance.

He was pensive again.

The letter made it clear that he could not let things go unsettled. The issue was going on longer than it should have because they were not face to face. He sighed.

_It appears that I may have to go for a while..._

Sora's foam sword came back near his head; he reacted out of instinct, parrying the attack with a swift side slash. She stumbled again, but did not find her balance.

His eyes widened as she started to go over the side.

He quickly darted to her and grabbed the back of her shirt before she fell, all the while berating himself for putting too much force in his swing when they were so close to the side. The tug to the back of her shirt made her body suddenly fall backwards, keeping her on the platform but making her land on her tush.

"Oomph!" She winced a little at the stinging of her tailbone.

"Are you uninjured?"

"Yeah," she said, taking his pro-offered hand to help her stand up. "It was just a sudden fall is all."

He was quiet again and then his hand fell back to his side. "We're done for today."

She had been retrieving her practice sword when he made that announcement. Sword now in hand, she straightened up and looked him over with a slight frown on her face. She thought they would go for a long session today.

"Are you sure? I don't mind going a little longer."

He nodded solemnly. _If I cannot fully focus, it would not be wise to continue. _In the beginning of their practice he had been able to push the matter aside, but as they went on, thoughts about the letter started surfacing.

He could potentially injure her in his distracted mentally.

And that would not be acceptable.

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After getting off of the platform and turning the rocking feature off, they headed out.

They split off momentarily to their respective locker rooms and then met again so they could have lunch together. Sora, now in black shorts and a nice lavender top with a light jacket on, stood outside of the practice building to wait for Leon.

She idly turned her engagement ring from side to side as she thought.

_He's got something on his mind._ She could tell by the unfocused look of his eyes. His gaze, when focused, was more clear and sharp. It had the ability to send little thrills down her spine just with a fleeting eye connection. Those grey eyes held so much power in them, but at the same time they were a vulnerable aspect of himself.

His eyes spoke when his mouth would not.

Unfortunately, the mouth tended to stay shut for long periods of time.

She huffed to herself. _Stubborn man._ Maybe she couldn't relate to all of his experiences, but she knew that sometimes just a listening ear made the issue not as daunting.

The door to the building opened.

Leon strode over in a dark blue button up shirt and some slacks. She couldn't help but think how far he's come in opening up, even to the point that he was actually wearing some color outside of their dates and around the stage. He wore black for the longest of times, she wondered if it had been some sort of mood correlation.

Not that he didn't look good in black.

He was practically a male model with his designer clothes. She shook her head at that thought. While she thought he looked suave, she preferred his more casual outfits.

It told her that he was truly seeing the Kaleido Stage as his home.

He didn't feel the need to be so rigid in his appearance. There was now a more relaxed air about him, though he was a bit tense now because of whatever was currently plaguing his mind. Even with that stress, however, he was still dressing with some color.

He stopped in front of her. "Are you ready to go?"

In the middle of answering, she let out a goofy smile at a thought she just had. "Yes, but I think we need a change of location."

With that, she grabbed his hand and led him off the property.

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AN: Oh Sora where are you taking him? :P

Thank you for the reviews and for reading! :D Sorry if it seems kind of slow. I know what I want to get to, but I don't want it to seem so sudden. XP


	35. Chapter 35

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Sora took him to the shops along the beach.

The gulls cried and the salty breeze tussled their hair. Over the years, Sora's let her hair grow a little past mid back. She recently got layers thanks to her salon friend in Japan, but it was still longer than what it was when he first met her. Right now he watched a few red strands flutter behind her as she led him to who knew where.

Judging by the seafood and smoothie places they were passing, he assumed it would be food related.

She stopped suddenly.

He looked away from her hair and took in the small shop they were in front of. Through the window, he saw a few tables but there were mainly stools around the main counter in the middle of the shop. He quirked a brow at the three scoops of rocky road a kid had as he walked out of the shop with his mother.

"An ice cream parlor?"

Ever since she found the place a few years ago, this has been her favorite place to come and relax when she needed a temporary break from the stage. As much as she loved to perform she couldn't deny that there had been some rather intense drama a few years back.

She stole a glance at her fiancee.

The ice cream place had been a nice refuge from that.

But she wasn't going to tell him that. There really was no need to state that since they've moved passed that drama. Besides, there was something she wanted to get with Leon here...

"Do you want to share a sundae?"

There was a bit of bashfulness playing along the corners of her mouth and slightly colored her cheeks. Even if he hadn't noticed those, her endearing shyness was evident in the way she swung their joined hands as she waited for his response.

Given all that, how could he refuse?

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It was Mia's fault that Sora wanted to do this.

The romantic scriptwriter showed the redhead an old movie set in the time when couples went to "mom and pop" diners or soda parlors, the girls wore their guy's school sweaters, class ring or pin, and they were classified as "going steady." It was definitely an earlier form of dating in America, but there was something sweet in it that got a hold of Sora.

As they sat side by side with their stools close together and the old shop keeper placed their rather large banana and strawberry sundae with caramel syrup, chopped peanuts, light whipped cream and a bright red cherry on top, Sora felt her cheeks redden when the older man handed them their spoons with a grin.

"Enjoy kiddos!"

She hoped Leon didn't take offence.

To her relief, Leon merely nodded his head. _Oh good._

With a smile she took a spoonful of vanilla ice cream and some caramel and ate it with relish. In the movie, the main characters shared a milkshake with both of them sipping from their own straws, but she thought that would have been too sappy to do.

A sundae seemed a bit better.

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Halfway through their treat, Leon's shoulders loosened.

The cherry slid down the vanilla slope and went into the caramel. Sora's spoon went to retrieve it when Leon's spoon suddenly came in and swooped it out of the caramel. With a playful narrowing of her eyes, she used her spoon to knock the cherry off of his.

He quirked a brow. She raised a brow back.

Their cherry fight began.

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After seeing how beaten up the little cherry was, Sora spoke up with a giggle.

"Time out. Let's just split it."

Leon gave a slow blink as he thought about it.

She let out a dramatic gasp when he simply scooped the whole cherry onto his spoon. "You don't play fair!" She half whined.

He raised the spoon towards her. "Who said I was taking it for myself?"

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They left the parlor and went to walk on the sand.

Leon kept his shoes on, but Sora had hers in one hand as she wrapped her other arm around his waist. He felt better after the unexpected ice cream trip, however, he knew that he was going to have to address the letter to her.

It was his turn to lead her somewhere.

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She was tucked under his arm as they sat on some large rocks on the beach.

The ocean waves came and then went in an endless cycle. The visual was hypnotic and she could not pull her gaze from it.

"I need to go to France for a while," Leon quietly said.

That quickly got her attention. Many questions were on the tip of her tongue, but she decided to give him a chance to address them gradually rather than bombard him with multiple inquiries all at once. He didn't respond positively with that sort of treatment, though she doubted anyone really did.

"For how long?" she finally settled on.

"Perhaps a week or two," he murmured. "Though I honestly do not know how long it will take."

She nodded at that, but otherwise did not say anything. For a long while the only sounds were the light roaring of the waves as the came to the shore and the splashes of water as some teens entered the cold water further down the beach.

"Will you not ask me what for?"

She turned her attention back to him. "Are you comfortable telling me?"

"...Yes and no," was his enigmatic response, "but know that I go in the interest of our future together."

Her arm around his torso gave a squeeze. "Ok."

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